Ex-girlfriend testifies in sex assault trial of GTA doctors
The ex-girlfriend of one of two doctors on trial for gang sexual assault today testified that one of them, Dr. Amitabh Chauhan, drugged and raped her 11 years ago.
The 21-year-old woman, who cannot be identified because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault, said she and Chauhan dated for less than a year when they were both at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.
Two years later, in September 2003, she said she ran into him again at an RMC event.
She hitched a ride with him to meet some mutual friends in downtown Kingston, but they stopped at a bar where he insisted on buying her a drink.
"I don't remember making it outside. I couldn't see anything. Next thing I know I was hearing sounds ... I remember feeling freaked out. It wasn't normal,” she testified.
The victim wept as she told the court Chauhan drove her to what she thought was a military base.
"I was held down and penetrated vaginally and I couldn't move,” she said. "Amtiabh was on top of me trying to force fellatio.”
She said she did not reported the assault because she didn't want it to taint her career. She changed her mind when she heard about a second alleged victim.
Chauhan and Dr. Suganthan Kayilasanathan are accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a second woman in February 2011. It's alleged the victim and Chauhan knew each other and had arranged to meet at a hotel to talk about her career.
When she arrived, Chauhan and Kayilasanathan were there to meet her. After drinks at different two bars, police say the woman was drugged then taken to a hotel room where both men sexually assaulted her.
The Crown says DNA from both doctors was found on the woman's clothing and body. They are charged with administering a noxious substance and gang sexual assault.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The second woman is expected to take the stand later this week.
