ACTIONS OF DENTIST WITH WOMEN PATIENTS

Chronicle (Levin), 23 October 1947, Page 6

ACTIONS OF DENTIST WITH WOMEN PATIENTS

WELLINGTON, Oct. 22. When the hearing of eig'ht cbarges against Gordon McCallum, dental surgeon, aged 42, was resumed in the ISupreme Court before the Chief Justiee, Sir Ilumphrey O'Leary, and jury, Constable C. W. Naylor was again in the witness box. Aceused is charged wit-h indecent assault on women patients.' To Mr. W. E. Leicester, for the defence, Constable Naylor said he would be surprised to know that the net curtains on the bottom of the surgery window obscured 2ft-(3in of the window. His estimate had been 18 inehes. When a patient was sitting in.. the- chair there was only a minor- degree of obseurity caused by the curtaiu. A dental nurse emjiloyed by aceused described her duties. while patients were having gas extractions. She said she had been out of the surgery on one.or two oecasions while aceused was making extractions. She noticed on quite a number of times that McCallum had put his hand under a patient 's clothing. She had taken it as part of the operatiou an.d never questioned him about it. Cross-examined by Mr. Leicester, witness said aceused had always insisted that as far as possible some nurse should be present throughout the gas extractions. McCallum was always fussy about tight clothing. On many oecasions she had seen him place his hand under women 's clothing to see if it was loose and to apply pressure to or massage the stomach. The father of a girl patient had l?een present when McCallum massaged his daughter 's stomach after she had regaiued cousciousness. Openiug the case' for the defence, Mr. Leicester referred to aceused 's hue record overseas. He had joined the Dental Corps as a lieutenant and in a short time had been promoted to major. He had been mentioned in despatches, awarded the M.B.E., and reeeived the Eliicieucy Decoration 011 his return. The weight the Crown .wanted the jury to attribute to the iuvestigating coustable's evidence, ' could not be attributed if justiee was to be doue to aceused, said Mr. Leicester. He suggested the linal aualysis would come down to whetlier accuseu 's actions were clone in circuuistauces proving charges of indecency or as part of the ordinary routine practice for a patient 's comfort aud assistaiu-e. If sexual iudecent acts were doue by aceused — a mau involved iu a busy practice— he chose the most peculiar time to do it. There could be 110 phvsical response from the v.omeu who would look iu the most unattraetive state possible. Mr. Leicester said he would ca.ll experl vvituesses to sliovv that the iuvestigating coustables ' evidence was takeii from blurred glimpses of the surgery and completed by their imagiuation. Before the Court adjourned, wituesses gave evidence of aceused 's line character overseas and in social life. The case will confinue tomorrow.