Former Kitchener neurologist addresses specific sexual assault allegations during trial

Warning: This story includes discussion of sexual assault.

A former Kitchener neurologist charged with sexually assaulting dozens of female patients is now reacting to each of the allegations from the stand at his trial.

Jeffrey Sloka faces 50 counts of sexual assault from alleged incidents at his private office at the Kaufman Building at Grand River Hospital between January 2010 and July 2017.

Previously during the trial, court heard Sloka had allegedly asked female patients, including some teenagers, to take off their clothes for physical and skin exams and touched their breasts and genitals.

On Friday, the defence continued walking through those allegations one by one. Sloka has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The allegations are all different, but many have similarities.

In many cases, patients allege they visited Sloka for issues relating to headaches or migraines, and claim he conducted breast or genital exams, touching them inappropriately.

SPECIFIC ALLEGATIONS

Among the many allegation recounts, Sloka’s defence lawyer questioned him about a patient who visited him six times between 2013 and 2016.

Sloka said he has some memory of some of those visits.

The defence said the patient’s allegations regarding an inappropriate exam relate to the initial consultation following the referral.

The court heard about how the young adult was referred to Sloka because she had experienced stroke-like symptoms including some difficulty speaking and feeling “out of it.”

Sloka said he recommended a cardiac exam for the patient as part of his assessment, to rule out any heart problems.

He said he completed a minimal cardiac exam, which involves the patient keeping their clothes or gown entirely on while the doctor uses a stethoscope to check their chest.

Sloka said that’s what the patient was comfortable with.

The defence said the patient had testified that Sloka asked her to take all of her clothes off.

Sloka said he did not do that.

The defence said the patient testified that during the exam process, the doctor told her to take off her gown and lay on the examination table.

“I would not have said that,” Sloka responded, adding the minimal cardiac exam would be done in a seated position.

“Are you able to say whether you asked her to take off her gown?” the defence asked again.

“No, that would not be what I would have done,” Sloka said.

The doctor said in order to do a standard cardiac evaluation, there could have been a discussion about removing the gown from the left breast.

The defence went on to discuss more testimony from the patient, saying she alleges that during the exam, one of Sloka’s hands reached down her gown from the top, and the other reached up from the bottom, with both hands securing the stethoscope inside the shirt.

“No, we’re taught in clinical skills not to place our hands beneath the gown,” Sloka said.

At a later appointment, the defence asked Sloka about an allegation from the patient that the doctor had asked if she was a virgin and if she was waiting until marriage to have sex.

Sloka said it’s untrue, saying those are not the types of questions he would ask.

He said there could be discussion surrounding birth control with a patient, due to certain medications that might interfere.

ANOTHER ALLEGATION

The next complainant the defence questioned Sloka about visited him once in May 2015.

Sloka said he does not recall this patient.

The 18-year-old was referred to Sloka from the Grand River Hospital emergency department for fainting episodes, chest pain and headaches.

Referring to testimony notes, the defence confirmed the patient’s mother was present when she visited Sloka.

“Are you able to say how the topic of her menstrual cycle would have come up?” the defence asked Sloka.

The doctor replied that it was a common line of questioning for female patients presenting with headaches.

The defence asked about other questions Sloka allegedly asked about her reproductive health and birth control, which the doctor said was also routine.

Sloka said he recommended cardiac, neurological and abdominal examinations based on symptoms she was showing.

Her patient record read in court did not indicate abdominal pain. Sloka said he only would have done the exam if the patient expressed abdominal pain.

The defence said the patient testified Sloka asked her to take all of her clothes off, including underwear, and put on a gown.

“Because a cardiac examination was done, she would have had everything off from the waist up, including her bra,” Sloka said.

“At the very least, her underwear would have been on. And I just don’t know whether her pants would have been on or not.”

The defence asked Sloka why he, a neurologist, would conduct an abdominal exam.

“Abdominal examinations are part of my training,” Sloka said.

“She had an unusual loss of consciousness. Sometimes you can find things in the abdomen that can explain that sort of thing, and she also explained irregular cycles.”

Sloka said he was just making sure there wasn’t anything obviously wrong.

“At any time during this encounter did you have the patient remove her gown?” the defence asked.

Sloka replied: “No, other than the left side for the cardiac examination.”

The defence said the patient testified that she was made to stand naked in the room while Sloka examined her body.

“Did anything like that happen?” the defence asked.

“No,” Sloka responded.

“She alleges that you touched her in the area of the labia,” the defence said. “Did anything like that happen?”

“No,” Sloka responded.

“She alleges you performed an internal pelvic examination on her. Did that happen?” the defence asked.

“No,” Sloka said.

“She alleges you performed a breast examination that included you touching both of her breasts at the same time and using some kind of a cupping motion - did any of that happen?” the defence said.

Sloka said no, saying there was no breast examination done.

The defence asked about another allegation made by that patient. She testified that at one point during the examination, Sloka said she should do meditation breathing. She alleged he had her lie on exam table naked with her eyes closed. The patient testified the doctor sat about six feet away and watched her, instructing her to breathe in and out.

“Did any of that happen?” the defence asked Sloka.

“No,” Sloka replied.

The court then heard that the doctor ordered an ultrasound for the patient to check for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS.

“People with the syndrome have an increased risk for headaches,” Sloka said.

Another doctor who had previously taken the stand in the trial said an abdominal exam and ordering an ultrasound were outside of Sloka’s duties as a neurologist. Sloka said he disagrees, because he was investigating the patient’s headaches.

Records show that patient had been scheduled for a follow-up, six weeks after the initial appointment, but did not show up.

COURT ADJOURNED FOR THE DAY

The court adjourned for Friday afternoon. The defence said Sloka was feeling exhausted from the trial. The judge and Crown agreed he needed to be fresh for his testimony.

Sloka’s testimony continues on Wednesday. The defence said cross examination is likely still weeks away, as they have a total of 50 complainants to go through, one by one.

If you are a victim of sexual assault, help is available. The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region's 24-hour support line can be reached at 519-741-8633