Geelong doctor Joseph Chirawu sentenced after assaulting patient

A veteran Geelong doctor who was sentenced over the sexual assault of a patient has been barred from practising medicine in Australia.

A Geelong doctor has been jailed for four months after he was previously found guilty of sexually assaulting a female patient.

Joseph Chirawu, 66, was found guilty in June of one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault for incidents that occurred in August 2012 and May 2021 at the Geelong City Medical Clinic.

He was jailed during a sentencing hearing the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

The victim told the court Chirawu had taken advantage of her when she was vulnerable after she had trouble conceiving and was experiencing a marriage breakdown.

“How do I even begin to process the impacts on my life when the most trusted professional in my life … was a predator,” the woman said in a victim impact statement.

“Mr Chirawu, as he is no longer a doctor, was fully aware of these facts ... He was not a stranger on the street, oblivious to my personal situation. He chose to assault me with knowledge of the significant life challenges that I was already facing.”

Joseph Chirawu, outside Geelong Court, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a patient in August 2012 and May 2021.

The victim said she felt “ashamed and humiliated” for putting her “blind trust” in Chirawu and recommending him to her friends.

“The guilt and shame, every day, that I subjected my loved ones to this person. I’ve lost faith in my own ability to judge,” she said.

Magistrate Franz Holzer said Chirawu’s offending “constitutes both a considerable fall from grace and a gross breach of trust”.

“Your reputation and dignity have been destroyed,” he told Chirawu.

Chirawu worked at the clinic from 2007 until his suspension last year.
Mr Holzer told the victim that she was “entirely blameless and should have no guilt or shame” for Chirawu’s offending.

Joseph Chirawu worked at the Geelong City Medical Clinic from 2007 until his suspension last year.

The court heard Chirawu assaulted the woman in May 2021 by putting his arms around her from behind and touching her breasts.

Almost 10 years earlier, Chirawu touched the same woman’s breasts and squeezed her nipples during what he said was an examination to determine why she was not falling pregnant.

After the most recent assault, and with help from a detective, the victim called Chirawu to confront him about what had happened.

During this conversation, Chirawu apologised to the woman but later told the court that in his culture this apology did not mean guilt.

The magistrate took into account there was “no demonstrable evidence of remorse of ever regret” from Chirawu during the trial.

Mr Holzer said it was also important for “the need for the community to have absolute confidence in their medical professionals”.

Chirawu was taken into custody after the sentencing hearing. He will be placed on the sex offenders register.

An Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) spokesman confirmed Chirawu is suspended and cannot practise in Australia.

“As a regulator of health practitioners, public safety is our priority,” the spokesman said.

Ahpra has been monitoring the criminal proceedings against Chirawu and noted that “serious criminal convictions can constitute professional misconduct”.

“National boards do not have the power to cancel a practitioner’s registration. It is usual for serious criminal convictions to be referred to a tribunal who, among other powers, have the power to cancel a person’s registration,” the spokesman said.

Chirawu was taken into custody after the sentencing hearing. He will be placed on the sex offenders register.

Originally published as Geelong doctor Joseph Chirawu sentenced after assaulting patient