Former Beaconsfield chiropractor Craig Carter guilty of sexual assault of a patient: Dandenong court
A former Beaconsfield chiropractor claims a “brain fade” caused him to sexually assault a long-time patient by sucking on her exposed nipple.
South East
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A former Beaconsfield chiropractor claims a “brain fade” caused him to sexually assault a long-time patient by sucking on her exposed nipple.
Craig Carter,, 65, pleaded guilty in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on July 8 to three charges of sexual assault, after a patient came forward to tell of her terrifying ordeal.
The court heard the sexual assaults began in July 2022, where Carter began being “more intrusive” in their regular appointments.
Carter ran his hands over the patient’s body, progressively becoming more inappropriate, causing the victim to feel confused and freeze during her appointments.
The court heard Carter placed the victim’s hand on his thigh, slowly moving it closer to his groin, until he eventually placed her hand on his penis and testicles.
On the final occasion, Carter was working on the victim’s glute muscle and lower back when he put his hand underneath her underwear, rubbing her genitalia and groin area.
The court heard he then asked the victim to move positions onto her back, where he then fully exposed her breast and sucked on her nipple.
The victim told police she heard a sharp breath and a slurping sound, before Carter said “sorry about that, it was just something I wanted to do”.
The woman cancelled a follow up appointment with Carter and reported the assault to police.
In a phone call between the victim and Carter, investigators heard him apologise for the incident.
“I don’t know what was going on in my head,” he said.
“I apologise for overstepping professional boundaries.”
Carter turned himself in for an interview shortly after the victim’s report, making stomach-turning admissions to police.
“I’m shocked at myself, I’m shocked at what happened,” he said.
“I just had a brain fade. It wouldn’t have gone on for longer than a couple of seconds.”
In court on Monday, Carter’s lawyer Louis Dean said his client had a “high level of remorse”.
“He has handed back his registration and is no longer practising,” Mr Dean said.
The court heard Carter’s marriage had also ended as a result of the sexual assault.
Magistrate Fran Medina convicted Carter and sentenced him to a 30 month community corrections order where he will have to complete 250 hours of unpaid community work.
“It’s a significant number of hours to reflect my view of the gravity of the circumstances,” Ms Medina said.
