The pathologist at the centre of
a high-profile investigation into child autopsies is
in trouble again. Dr Charles Smith has been charged
by Saskatchewan's College of Physicians and Surgeons
with lying about his past.
Dr Smith, already under review
in Ontario for inconsistencies in his pediatric forensics
work, is accused of providing inaccurate or misleading
information in his application to practise in Saskatchewan
last year. The charge is likely to stop him working
elsewhere in Canada, said Bryan Salte, the College's
associate registrar and lawyer.
Mr Salte said applicants are required
to disclose if they have ever "been the subject of an
inquiry or investigation by a medical licensing authority
or hospital... or had any disciplinary action taken"
against them during their practising career. Dr Smith
was a pediatric pathologist at the Toronto Hospital
for Sick Children until concerns were raised in 2002
and 2003 about the validity of his findings. Forty homicide
and criminally suspicious autopsies performed by Dr
Smith between 1991 and 2003 are now being investigated
by the Ontario Chief Coroner's Office to determine "whether
the conclusions reached by Dr Smith can be supported
by the information and materials available."
In one of the most high-profile
of those cases William Mullins-Johnson, of Sault Ste
Marie, spent 12 years in prison for the rape and murder
of his four-year-old niece. But a 2005 review of the
case disagreed with Dr Smith's findings. Another pathologist,
Dr Michael Pollanen, concluded the girl was never sexually
assaulted and probably died of natural causes. Mr Mullins-Johnson
was released on bail last September.
At around the same time, Dr Smith
was granted a temporary licence to practise in Saskatchewan.
But after an Ontario resident informed the Saskatchewan
licensing body of the investigation, Dr Smith was dismissed
from Saskatoon City Hospital.
A hearing date has not yet been
set for the current charges. If found guilty, Dr Smith
would at most suffer a fine imposed by the Saskatchewan
disciplinary council.
Dr Smith's work in Saskatchewan
is not being questioned only his omission of
information. "There's nothing I have seen that would
raise questions about his practice of medicine while
he was in Saskatchewan," said Mr Salte.
Until Saskatchewan's charges against
Dr Smith are resolved, his certificate of standing from
that province will report the case to any other provincial
medical licensing authority to which he applies, which
will likely make it impossible for him to be granted
a licence for the time being.
There have been two cases of doctors
being disciplined in Saskatchewan in recent years for
providing inaccurate or misleading information about
their backgrounds, said Mr Salte. In both cases, the
doctors failed to fully report their past investigations
or suspension, one in an application to the Alberta
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the other to
that of Saskatchewan. Both were disciplined.
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