"Provincial court Assistant Chief Judge Bob Wilkins committed Dr. Aubrey Levin to stand trial on Tuesday following three weeks of evidence at a preliminary hearing.
Crown prosecutor Bill Wister and defence lawyer Alain Hepner had agreed that the 10 counts should go forward and eight others should be withdrawn.
Three others were withdrawn earlier in the hearing that began June 1."
REPORTER DARYL SLADE; THE CALGARY HERALD;
MARK CALENDER NOW: IMPORTANT JOINT NPR, FRONTLINE, PROPUBLICA INVESTIGATION OF CHILD DEATH CASES INVOLVING ABUSE, ASSAULT AND "SHAKEN-BABY SYNDROME." ASKS IF DEATH INVESTIGATORS ARE BEING PROPERLY TRAINED FOR CHILD CASES; FIRST OF THREE SEGMENTS ON "THE CHILD CASES" AIRS ON JUNE 28 AT 9.00 PM:
When a child dies under suspicious circumstances, abuse is often suspected. That's what happened in the case of six-month-old Isis Vas, whose death was deemed "a clear-cut and classic" case of child abuse, sending a man named Ernie Lopez to prison for 60 years. But now a Texas judge has moved to overturn Lopez's conviction, and new questions are being asked about the quality of expert testimony in this and many other similar cases. In this joint investigation with ProPublica and NPR, FRONTLINE correspondent A.C. Thompson unearths more than 20 child death cases in which people were jailed on medical evidence -- involving abuse, assault and "shaken-baby syndrome" -- that was later found unreliable or flat-out wrong. Are death investigators being properly trained for child cases? The Child Cases is the first of three magazine segments airing June 28 at 9 p.m. (check local listings);
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-child-cases/
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BACKGROUND: Dr. Aubrey Levin, 71, was first arrested and charged March 23 after allegations that a 36-year-old patient was repeatedly sexually assaulted. Calgary Police said that following that charge, “the sex crimes unit was approached by numerous people alleging they, too, were Sexually assaulted by Levin during counselling sessions or court-ordered visits. These assaults allegedly occurred at Levin's Peter Lougheed (hospital) office or examination rooms. Dr. Levin has now been charged with 20 additional counts of sexual assault involving 20 other patients. Alberta Justice has been reviewing all criminal cases in which Dr. Levin offered testimony to ensure there were no miscarriages of justice. Spokesman David Dear said the work in 17 cases in which Dr. Levin was currently involved has been redone by other psychiatrists. The department is currently reviewing 21 other cases which had been finished. Mr. Dear said that Dr. Levin most commonly gave expert testimony to help the court make decisions on sentencing for people who had already been convicted.
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"A former prominent forensic psychiatrist has been ordered to stand trial on 10 of 21 sexual assault charges relating to patients," the Calgary Herald story by reporter Daryl Slade published earlier today under the heading, "Former Calgary psychiatrist ordered to stand trial on 10 sexual assault charges," begins.
"Provincial court Assistant Chief Judge Bob Wilkins committed Dr. Aubrey Levin to stand trial on Tuesday following three weeks of evidence at a preliminary hearing," the story continues.
"Crown prosecutor Bill Wister and defence lawyer Alain Hepner had agreed that the 10 counts should go forward and eight others should be withdrawn.
Three others were withdrawn earlier in the hearing that began June 1.
The hearing began with an application to ban members of the international media and the public, in which the lawyers cited expected breaches of bans through Internet social networks on the names of the complainants and the evidence.
There was also a concern at the beginning of the hearing that a member of the press from South Africa, where Levin, 72, practised psychiatry before coming to Canada about 15 years ago, and would report on the proceedings.
Wilkins ruled that Canadian media, members of the Law Society of Alberta, law students involved in the case, family members of the accused and complainants and police officers could remain in the courtroom.
However, he issued a stern warning that none of the evidence may be leaked out in any manner.
Levin will make his first appearance at Court of Queen’s Bench on Aug. 19.
Hepner said he expects the proposed jury trial to commence early next year."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Former+Calgary+psychiatrist+ordered+stand+trial+sexual+assault+charges/4981824/story.html
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
