MANDEL: Oshawa thoracic surgeon loses licence over creepy crime in Beach
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What a crime against the cancer patients he could have saved.
But due to his sick acts, Oshawa thoracic surgeon Dr. Armen Parajian has been rightly stripped of his licence to practise medicine.
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MANDEL: Oshawa thoracic surgeon loses licence over creepy crime in Beach Back to video
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For two years, a man behind the wheel of a white Jeep terrified residents in the Beach, with Toronto Police issuing repeated warnings about a driver who would expose himself or follow young girls.
In a shocking development, Parajian, then 37, was arrested in 2021 and charged with two counts of committing an indecent act, four counts of harassment by repeatedly following another person and eight counts of exposing genitals to a person under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose.
After Parajian’s arrest, Lakeridge Health said they were temporarily reassigning the surgeon’s patients to other doctors.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to just the criminal harassment of 13 victims — all but one were girls between 10 and 15 — by driving his white Jeep slowly by them over a six-month period between November 2020 and May 2021 in the area of Blantyre Park in southwest Scarborough.
According to the agreed statement of facts, “On more than one occasion it appeared to the victims that he was pretending to use his phone to record or photograph them when he stopped near them. The accused was completely unknown to the victims. Throughout these encounters, it appeared to the victims that the accused was following or watching them. As a result, the victims reasonably feared for their safety based on their perception of the accused’s conduct.”
Fourteen other charges were withdrawn and Parajian was given a suspended sentence with three years probation — which he’s completed.
While he got off easy in the Ontario Court of Justice, the surgeon received a much tougher prescription from the medical regulator.
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Before the College of Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal, Parajian admitted to the criminal harassment as well as more troubling behaviour.
He admitted that nine days before his arrest, he parked his Jeep on a residential street in the Beach, moved to the passenger seat and masturbated with the window open. An adult neighbour saw him from her home and rushed to confront him before an approaching group of girls could see what he was doing. He pulled up his pants and said he was just on the phone, the ruling stated, before driving away.
The tribunal found Parajian guilty of professional misconduct. “While they took place outside the practice of medicine, Dr. Parajian’s actions affect patients’ ability to confide in and trust Dr. Parajian, as well as the reputation of the profession.”
The first victim wrote about how Parajian’s actions left her feeling stressed, sad and scared for the safety of her children and her community. “I used to have a certain level of trust and respect for that physician simply because they were a medical professional. Now, that pre-established trust is gone.”
In the second victim impact statement, parents wrote their “daughter has spent the last 2.5 years looking over her shoulder whenever she is out in our community, always on high alert.”
The tribunal noted that Parajian admitted his misconduct, sparing a hearing, has shown insight and realizes the seriousness of his actions.
“The character letters speak strongly of Dr. Parajian’s commitment as a physician and to the fact that this conduct was an aberration. Through counselling, Dr. Parajian continues to address the issues that led to his actions,” the panel wrote.
Losing his licence wasn’t automatic — as it is for sexual assault of a patient — but both the doctor and the tribunal agreed it was the right penalty under the circumstances.
“Patients come to physicians for protection and healing. The publicity around these incidents has diminished the public’s confidence that any physician they visit will care for them and they will be safe in their vulnerable relationships with them. Revocation will help maintain that confidence,” the panel concluded.
According to his website, Parajian is a thoracic surgeon practicing since 2017 and at Lakeridge Health, focused on treating patients with lung and esophageal cancer.
What a waste.
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