A former Tristar Medical Group doctor will spend a year in jail after pleading guilty to multiple sexual assaults while working as a GP in Avoca.
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Martin Lee appeared at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to be sentenced on four counts of sexual assault on four women between 2017 and 2020.
The four women were all patients of Lee at one time prior to the offending.
The court was told the first incident was in 2017, when one of the women visited Lee's clinic for an appointment.
Under the guise of a routine check-up, Lee forcefully removed the woman's bra and massaged her breasts for an extended period of time.
The woman told the court she left feeling 'disgusted and violated', and did not return to see Lee as a GP following the incident.
In 2018, Lee penned a letter to the woman, defending his actions and apologizing for any distress he may have brought her.
Another woman visited Lee in May 2020 for an appointment about a rash on her back.
The court heard while inspecting the rash, Lee lifted the sides of the woman's top to expose her breasts and pinched her.
The woman said she was in shock during the incident and completely froze.
Another incident, in mid 2020, saw Lee sexually assault another woman while out gold detecting.
The court heard Lee initially began helping the woman secure her gold detecting harness, however began fondling her breasts and trying to kiss her.
The fourth victim visited Lee at the clinic in August 2020 to speak about a mental health assessment.
After a discussion, Lee convinced the woman to remove her top and bra under the guise of a routine breast inspection.
Lee initially performed a normal inspection, but moved onto inappropriately touching the woman's breasts for about one minute.
An expert medical report provided the court from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine looked at the accounts of Lee's victims and found his handling of the women's breasts was not in accordance with medical practice.
Lee had also violated the appropriate guidelines and training provided by Tristar Medical Group.
The former doctor graduated medical school in China in 1982 and moved to Australia in 1989.
He performed a research role at La Trobe University before graduating as a doctor in 2008. He trained as a GP in Avoca under the supervision of Tristar Medical Group.
Magistrate Hugh Radford said Lee would never practice medicine again due to the offending.
"It is a significant fall from grace, not only personally but within the medical community and within your profession," Mr Radford said.
"I think there is a significant aggregating factor to be taken into account, the breach of trust a patient has with their doctor.
"The effects upon the victims in these circumstances have been significant. The victims have felt guilty, developed issues with themselves, trust and dealing with other professionals in the future."
Magistrate Radford also took into account Lee's plea of guilty and lack of criminal record.
Lee was sentenced to 12 months' jail and a 24-month community corrections order.
Had he not pleaded guilty, but was found guilty in a trial, Lee would have been given a two-year jail sentence.
Affected by this story? There is help available. You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292. Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
