DR. Vishwamintra Persaud, the medical doctor who was barred from practising in New York and Guyana, because of sexual misconduct involving a minor, was Thursday in Guyanese police custody following a similar misconduct report Police officials confirmed to Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) that they are probing an allegation that he sexually assaulted a 13-year old girl.
The girl is to be taken to the Child Care and Protection Agency of the Ministry of Human Services for medical examination and counselling.
Dr. Persaud was taken into police custody Wednesday afternoon after the CCPA received a report that implicated the doctor. He has been barred from practising by the Guyana Medical Council after information surfaced that he had been penalized by authorities in New York for a similar act on a girl there.
Demerara Waves Online News was told that the teenager is a member of a family who worked at the Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, home of Dr. Persaud.
The girl told someone who subsequently filtered the information to CCPA officials, eventually leading to the matter being placed in the hands of the police.
The girl’s family are, however, said to be concerned about getting into trouble if Dr. Persaud is prosecuted.
Regarded as a highly trained and competent doctor, Dr. Persaud was, nevertheless, banned from practising in Guyana last year.
His license was revoked in October of 2008 by the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct.
The Misconduct Description states that “The Hearing Committee sustained the charge finding the physician guilty of having been convicted in Nassau County Court, Mineola, New York of attempted course of sexual conduct against a child.”
According to the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, the physician’s New York State medical license was previously summarily suspended by the New York State Commissioner of Health.
He pleaded guilty on April 18, 2008, to attempted causes of sexual misconduct against a child. And on June 11, 2008, he was sentenced to an eight-year order of protection; 10 years of probation, a US$2,500 fine, and various fees and surcharges.
While he admitted committing the crime, he argued that he should not lose his license to practise because of the exceptional quality of his medical practice and because therapy had transformed him into a person who will never again commit such an act.
Several factual flaws were found in a testimony by a therapist. Several letters effusive of Dr Persaud were tendered as evidence but he admitted that many of them were based on templates that he had developed.
One of the problems found in the testimony is that the sexual offence occurred within a short period of nine to 12 months; but evidence showed that it was in fact done from 2003 to 2007. The only reason that it ended on October 2007 is that the abuse was eventually revealed. The respondent (Dr Persaud) deserves no credit for bringing the abuse to an end, the New York State Commissioner of Health found.