Eight women sue psychiatrist over alleged sex acts

Eight women who provided care for a disabled Vancouver psychiatrist are alleging that he told them to perform inappropriate sex acts for him.

Seven of the women were hired as personal-care aides by Dr. John Allan James Christensen and one of them was hired as a live-in caregiver.

Christensen, who has been a quadriplegic for 20 years and claims to suffer from chronic pain, advertised the positions on Craigslist and UBC CareersOnline.

The women were told that the postings for personal care aide did not require any previous experience.

The allegations against the 75-year-old psychiatrist, who has practised psychiatry for decades but whose current employment status is listed as “temporarily inactive” by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., date from 2011 to earlier this year.

Many of the women claim in their lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court that he asked them to squeeze his testicles or penis in order to relieve pain. One woman said that she was told to heat up a bot- tle of massage oil before applying it onto Christensen’s testicles.

“The defendant told the plaintiff that the testicle massage was a medical treatment and it was important for his daily care.”

The woman, who worked for Christensen as a personal care aide from October 2011 to May 2012, said that she was also asked to perform “bowel care” on Christensen, a practice in which he asked her to insert her finger all the way up his anus and rotate the finger for a minute.

“While the plaintiff ’s finger was inserted in the defendant’s anus, the defendant held onto the bar on his bed, rocked back and forth, screaming, “God have mercy, God have mercy!” says her suit.

“The defendant would scream this statement for approximately one minute. While the plaintiff’s finger was inserted in the defendant’s anus, the defendant would tell the plaintiff to, ‘Keep going.’ “

The woman says that she was unaware that the sexual act was inappropriate and that it was not a medical procedure, and adds that she trusted what he told her as he was a doctor.

Another woman, who worked as Christensen’s live-in caregiver, made a similar allegation against him and claimed he asked her to blow dry his testicles and buttocks.

She said in her notice of civil claim that he instructed her on how to change his catheter and that she needed to get his penis partly erect and she shouldn’t worry because “it doesn’t bite” and that it is just his “snake” and she shouldn’t be shy.

The plaintiffs claim they’ve suffered from anxiety, nightmares, emotional trauma, low self-esteem, loss of confidence and weight loss, and are seeking damages.

Naz Kohan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said her clients ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s.

Christensen has filed responses to six of the suits denying the allegations. He says that at no time did he ever require any person who attended to his personal care to perform acts that had a sexual purpose.