Despite being convicted in 2012 and again in 2022, the gynecologist continues to exercise due to a pending appeal in court.
Valério Saraiva de Carvalho, a 59 -year -old gynecologist, has continued to exercise medicine in Lisbon despite being convicted of violating a patient in 2022.
In addition to a penalty of four years in prison, the conviction also imposed a ban on exercising gynecology during the same period. However, the doctor continues to exercise due to pending legal resourcesnamely one last appeal to the Constitutional Court, which has postponed the execution of the sentence.
The most serious case involved a young girl of Chinese origin, sexually abused at the doctor’s private office in Entrecampos. The first and second instance courts considered proven that there was a violationalthough the victim has not offered active resistance due to shame.
According to the judges, this does not invalidate the absence of consent, sufficient condition to configure the crime. The emotional impact on the victim was recognized in court, with the young woman having difficulty reporting what happened due to trauma. The doctor was sentenced to compensate it in 10,000 eurosvalue considered insufficient by the judges, although not reviewed.
This was not the first episode of this kind. The recalls that, in 2012, Valério Saraiva de Carvalho was sentenced to five months in prison with suspended sentence for sexual importination to two patients at São Francisco Xavier Hospital, and forced to pay 5000 euros of compensation.
At the time, the Southern Regional Disciplinary Council of the Order of Doctors applied a suspension of duties for six months, which never met. The doctor contested the sanction in the administrative courts, delaying its execution.
Despite the convictions and recurrence, the doctor had regular consultations. According to the prosecution, the abuse included extended exams and inappropriate manipulations, often performed without the presence of an assistant – contrary to good medical practices.
The case raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the disciplinary mechanisms of the Order of Doctors. The conviction of 2012, according to the judges, did not prevent the doctor’s criminal conduct climb, calling for the expectation of rehabilitation that justified the initial suspended penalty.
