A regina chiropractor was sentenced Monday to 15 months in the community for sexually assaulting a patient.
The judge of the King’s Bench court, Janet McMurtry, said that a prison sentence would have hindered that Ruben Manz support her family.
“The imprisonment, in my opinion, would emphasize too much the severity of the offense,” said McMurtry.
“I am satisfied that a conditional prayer properly denounces the behavior of Dr. Manz and will serve to deter it from him and in the field of medical care that are in a similar position of trust towards their patients.”
Manz was accused of touching or throwing the breasts of seven female patients while stretching the neck between 2010 and 2020.
A jury found him guilty for a position of sexual assault, not guilty of five other positions and a void trial was determined on the remaining count.
The Crown argued that apps sexually touched women with any legitimate medical purpose, betraying their confidence in him as a medical caregiver.
Manz testified that he got his patients to complete forms and requested their consent before working in sensitive areas of the body, including chest and buttocks.
If the patients told him they were uncomfortable, he said, he stopped.
‘A fair and appropriate result’
The judge said that Manz must follow a touch of curb and not have contact with the victim, as well as maintain peace and have a good behavior.
The chiropractic hugged his wife and children in the courtroom after receiving the sentence.
“I think he feels relieved to go home with his family tonight,” said defense lawyer Blaine Beaven later to journalists outside the court.
“He knows that there will be a lot of work for him in the (conditional prayer order), although he is happy that he will not imprison tonight.”
Manz’s other lawyer Kathy Hodgson-Smith added that he was satisfied with the result, since the defense had sought a conditional sentence.
Prosecutor Carmody Hallamore said that outside the Court it is not a decision that the crown had wanted. She had argued by prison.
“I think the crown is certainly disappointed, but there is room to say that it was a fair and appropriate result.”
