Not guilty on charges of sexual assault

An Alberta pediatrician has been found not guilty on charges of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl during a vacation in southern Alberta five years ago.

Tuesday's ruling followed a three-day trial in September, 2020.

Dr. Ramneek Kumar, who was practising in St. Albert at the time, was facing two counts of sexual contact with a child and one count of sexual assault in connection with incidents alleged to have taken place in August 2015.

The incidents were alleged to have taken place in a rented cabin being shared by 11 people, and in the change room at a local pool in the Waterton area.

The girl, who was not a patient and is now 14-years-old, testified she was touched by Kumar several times on her shoulders, hair and chest area when no one else was around.

Kumar resigned from the clinic in St. Albert.

On May 13, 2019 the College Physicians of Alberta suspended Dr. Kumar's practice permit after he was charged with the sexual assault and sexual interference. The accusations did not involve patients, and did not happen in a clinical setting.

The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta stayed that decision last week, and will let Kumar, who is now practicing in Calgary, continue to see patients with a chaperone present.

Kumar also has to post signage in his clinic stating a chaperone must be present for all patient visits.