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An Auckland doctor has admitted sexually abusing three young girls living in an environment of "total trust" - but wants permanent name suppression to pursue a return to medicine.
The 59-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault against girls under the age of 12 at the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday. Two other charges, including rape, were withdrawn by the Crown, and the doctor was granted interim name suppression by Justice Graham Lang until sentencing in April.
However, the man is seeking permanent name suppression so he can return to practise medicine, said his lawyer Peter Winter.
"The impact [if suppression was lifted] on him is quite significant. He was a practising general practitioner, this would affect his ability to continue to practise," Mr Winter told the court.
Prosecutor Philip Hamlin said the Crown would oppose permanent name suppression.
Court documents show the offending occurred between 1979 and 1988, when each of the three victims were aged between five and eight years old.
The doctor was a member of a small community in the Coromandel, the name of which is also suppressed.
In court documents, the mother of one of his alleged victims described the remote settlement as "idyllic". Children could come and go as they pleased, play in the trees and orchards and swim in rivers and the sea, often under the sole supervision of the doctor.
Police said the doctor entertained them with scientific experiments and games. "The kids would play at his place and it wasn't unusual for them to do this," said the mother in court documents. "It was a total trust environment."
The GP, who was 29 to 38 years old during the time of offending, was trusted by those living in the community, where children were nurtured in the belief that all adults there were approachable.
He lived in a three-tiered home, where he would take the children to his bedroom to "play games".
But more than 20 years later, three women alleged the doctor sexually assaulted them when they were as young as five. The guilty pleas to the indecent assault charges relate to incidents where he would touch their genitals with his erect penis.
One of the three victims was present in court for the hearing. Detective Sergeant Andy King, of the Adult Sexual Assault Team, said the victims were relieved at the guilty pleas.
"This has been a long, long process for them. They feel the allegations have been vindicated, that they were telling the truth all along. They are rapt."
Justice Lang entered convictions for each of the three guilty pleas and remanded the doctor on bail until sentencing on April 24.
Mr Winter said he would seek home detention for his client, as the charges were historic. The defence lawyer also indicated the doctor would seek to practise as a GP in Auckland again.
The doctor voluntarily withdrew his practising certificate when charges were laid in February 2008.
Medical Council spokesman George Symmes said the court is required to notify the Council of any doctor convicted of an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of three months or more.
"The doctor then is referred to a professional conduct committee which deals with complaints referred from the HDC and referrals from the court."
