CALGARY — A Calgary psychiatrist who frequently provided expert opinions in court now faces 21 charges of sexual assault, most of which allegedly took place during court-ordered visits.
Dr. Aubrey Levin, 71, was first arrested and charged in March after allegations that he repeatedly assaulted a 36-year-old patient.
“Following this charge, the sex crimes unit was approached by numerous people alleging they, too, had been sexually assaulted by Dr. Levin during counselling sessions or court-ordered visits,” Calgary Police Insp. Steve Barlow said Friday.
“These assaults allegedly occurred at Levin’s office or examination room.”
Levin has been charged with 20 additional counts of sexual assault involving 20 other patients, all men.
Barlow said most of the assaults allegedly took place during court-ordered visits, although he couldn’t give an exact number. Some of the complaints came from people who are currently incarcerated.
Alberta Justice has been reviewing all criminal cases in which Levin offered testimony to ensure there were no miscarriages of justice.
Spokesman David Dear said Levin’s work in 17 cases now before the courts has already been revisited by other psychiatrists, or will be. Senior prosecutors are reviewing 21 other closed cases in which Levin gave his opinion.
“There are a number of factors to consider, and certainly one of the important ones is if Dr. Levin’s work played a significant part in the case in any way, and then to take additional steps from there depending on how that’s assessed,” he said.
Dear said Levin most commonly prepared reports to help inform the court’s decisions after a person had already been convicted. “His work would normally have been psychiatric reports to help the court determine an appropriate sentence.”
Levin’s licence to practise medicine was temporarily suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons when the original charge was laid, said spokeswoman Kelly Eby.
She couldn’t confirm whether any patients had registered complaints against the doctor, saying those would be confidential unless there were a disciplinary hearing.
Barlow said he couldn’t confirm whether audio or video recordings were made of the court-ordered sessions, saying such information forms part of the investigation.
Police said Levin is free on bail on condition that he remain in Canada, has no contact with the alleged victims and does not practise medicine.
Levin earned his degree in 1963 in South Africa and was a military psychiatrist there before moving to Canada. He served briefly as regional director of the federal Psychiatric Centre Saskatoon as an employee of Correctional Service Canada and has been a licensed psychiatrist in Alberta since 1998.
His defence lawyer, Alain Hepner, has said Levin planned to fight the original sexual assault allegations in court. He said that he expected the case to be long and complicated because Levin has been practising for more than 40 years.
Hepner could not immediately be reached for comment on the most recent charges.