A former surgeon now in jail for online sex offences had been the subject of complaints at his former workplace.
A former surgeon now in jail for online sex offences had been the subject of complaints at his former workplace.
A former general surgeon now in jail after he was found with an “extensive library” of child sex abuse imagery was the focus of complaints to his employer, the country’s public health agency, at the time he was working.
In May this year, Stewart Alexander Metcalfe was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison after he was caught with the largest collection of child exploitation material ever found in New Zealand.
He was sentenced on charges linked to his possession and distribution of more than a million images and videos, some of which were described as “incomprehensible”.
They included child exploitation material, plus adult and snuff videos showing the violent abuse of women, including them being “hacked to death”.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand has confirmed to NZME that Metcalfe, who was hired by a district health board from December 2008 until 2014, had been the subject of workplace complaints.
It declined to say what they were, citing law around protecting his personal privacy and confidential employment processes.
The organisation did say, however, that there had been no investigation related to any alleged criminal offending during his employment with the DHB, during which time he was performing on average, three operations each week.
Disgraced former surgeon Stewart Metcalfe was found with horrific images of abuse. Photo / 123RF
“Yes, the [former] DHB was aware of complaints made during Mr Metcalfe’s employment. The number, nature of, and who made complaints is withheld to protect Mr Metcalfe’s personal privacy,” Te Whatu Ora told NZME in response to questions.
Metcalfe, who arrived in New Zealand from overseas, had been subject to standard checking processes required when hiring overseas-trained doctors.
“During the recruitment process, candidates are interviewed and asked specific questions about their past work history and experience.
“Then, if they are the preferred candidate for a senior medical officer role, at least three reference checks are completed before an offer of employment is made,” Te Whatu Ora said.
It said referees had worked with the candidate and were able to confirm their work history, skills and experience.
Candidate training and qualifications were authenticated as part of the New Zealand Medical Council registration process.
In addition to a New Zealand Police check, candidates from overseas had to provide a report from the police department in each country they had lived for 12 months or more, within the past 10 years.
Te Whatu Ora said the former DHB did not formally notify the Medical Council of any complaints or concerns about Metcalfe. Neither would it say if Metcalfe was sacked, or resigned from the role, again citing law around the need to protect his privacy and confidential employment processes.
“We have carefully considered this question and refuse the request for information about whether Mr Metcalfe resigned or was sacked.”
Te Whatu Ora said in response to questions over what processes, if any, had changed since Metcalfe had been employed, that “credentialing and referencing procedures are reviewed regularly to ensure quality and accurate data is provided to support the recruitment process”.
Metcalfe, who had since retrained in IT, was arrested in May last year and later admitted three representative charges of knowingly possessing child exploitation material, a representative charge of causing harm by posting digital communication and three representative charges of making child exploitation material.
On May 11 last year, police received information that a number of young women’s pictures had been taken from social media sites and doctored with sexually explicit additions for reposting to adult websites.
Investigators traced the activity to a Nelson address - Metcalfe had moved from the town where the offending happened. That location was suppressed.
Metcalfe was arrested on May 18 last year. A search of his home found the material on multiple hard drives and computers.
People were brought to tears during Metcalfe’s sentencing in the Nelson District Court after hearing the monstrous impacts on the lives of two of the victims of an aspect of Metcalfe’s offending.
Judge Jo Rielly made special mention of their bravery in coming to court, as they recounted harrowing details about how Metcalfe had taken their images off social media, doctored them and re-distributed them.
The heartbroken young women struggled at times to read their victim impact statements, while other victims listened via an audio link to the court.
One of the victims said when Metcalfe’s treachery was discovered, she was faced with the worst realisation in her life.
She said learning that she and her friends had been publicly sexualised had led to her “darkest moments”.
The second victim spoke of her disgust and the distress caused by Metcalfe’s actions, and how at times she had wanted the world to simply swallow her up.
The Crown described the offending as “beyond comprehension” while the defence said “getting caught was a blessing”.
“He sees this prison sentence as a way of getting the help he needs to be a better person and not the monster he acknowledges he’s become,” his lawyer Emma Riddell said.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.
Where to get help: If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:• Call 0800 044 334• Text 4334• Email support@safetotalk.nz• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nzAlternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.
