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Drew Legary not guilty of sexual assaulting teen patient at Alberta Children's Hospital

A Calgary nurse accused of sexually assaulting a teenage patient at the Alberta Children's Hospital was found not guilty today.

Drew Legary was acquitted of sexual assault and sexual interference.

The ​​complainant was 13-year-old patient at the Alberta Children's Hospital in September 2011.

Legary was accused of touching the boy's genitals.

Justice Rosemary Nation said in Calgary courtroom Wednesday that she believed there was enough reasonable doubt raised by the defence. She found Legary's explanation "plausible."

Legary testified he may have touched the teen, but if he did it was accidental and during the course of an examination.

"The way things worked is the way it's supposed to work in our courts," said Legary's lawyer Balfour Der. "The justice system worked here."

Complainant's father disappointed

But that's not how the father of the teenage complainant feels.

"I was very disappointed," said the father after learning the news. "I was very upset and I feel like justice failed me and my son."

Legary has been on unpaid leave from the hospital since the allegations surfaced more than three years ago.

Alberta Health Services will now hold a hearing to decide on Legary's fate with the organization. It may also address the possibility of the recovery of backpay.

"Mr. Legary is a member of the United Nurses of Alberta and AHS will be working with them on his employment options," said AHS in a statement.

Even though he has been acquitted, Legary's lawyer says he still faces the stigma of being accused of a sexual crime against a child.

"It's the fact of being charged that really brands a person, unfortunately," said Der. "Sometimes in the general public that stigma will stay with a person."