The Baden-Baden regional court has sentenced a doctor who offered osteopathic therapies to a suspended sentence of one year for sexual abuse in two cases.

He also has to pay a fine of 20,000 euros to a non-profit organization.

According to the court, the 56-year-old doctor touched a patient's nipples with sexual intent in 2015.

In a second patient, he is said to have inserted his fingers vaginally and stimulated them orally.

The court refrained from being convicted of rape and did not issue a professional ban.

Further criminal proceedings are possible for other patients

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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During the taking of evidence, six other patients came forward, who also accused the defendant of having sexually abused them. The doctor had said in the process that the patients had "only perceived his treatments to be sexualized". He was not assaulted, with osteopathic treatments the doctors are always "extremely close" to their patients. The defendant, who is now a German citizen, was also exposed to racist prejudice because he was born abroad. He also claimed that a patient started with a French kiss. In the course of the proceedings, he had repeatedly demonstrated various osteopathic treatment techniques on skeletal models to the court and the public prosecutor's office,his defense attorney had pleaded for acquittal and announced a revision after the verdict had been pronounced. The court came to a different view: the doctor had exploited the relationship of trust and exceeded the limits of treatment. The reports from the other six former patients may result in further criminal proceedings.

Sex offenses that are committed by attending physicians are called "professional sexual abuse" (PSM).

This includes oral, anal, vaginal penetration, genital stimulation and touching and kissing sexual organs during treatment.

There is no exact data for Germany on the frequency of these offenses;

However, based on a Canadian survey, scientists have calculated that there are probably 165,000 patients per year in Germany who experience sexual assault in connection with medical treatment or who have to endure sexually colored treatment or verbal sexual harassment.