A doctor kissed a patient without her consent and tried to have a sexual relationship with her in exchange for paying for prescription drugs, knowing she had drug dependency problems, a court found.
Former Melbourne-based GP Dr Attila Danko faced the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over allegations relating to a patient with whom he had a personal relationship from July to September 2019.
The couple met at a nicotine law reform advocacy conference in August 2017 and reconnected about a year later when they went out to dinner.
They kissed at the end of the night but the woman, who cannot be identified, said she did not want to take the relationship further and they broke up.
In May 2019 they reconnected online again.
It was during this time that the court concluded that Dr. Danko had “failed to maintain professional boundaries” with the woman by maintaining an “intimate and sexual” relationship with her and making “unsolicited physical and sexual contact.”
The court heard several allegations, including that Dr Danko had offered to pay for medication in exchange for a “sexual relationship or sugary dating relationship”.
Former Melbourne-based GP Dr Attila Danko faced the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over allegations relating to a patient with whom he had a personal relationship from July to September 2019.
The doctor was investigated by the Medical Board of Australia and was discharged in August 2020.
The court heard that after the couple reconnected, Dr Danko offered her to live in his spare room while she visited Melbourne to study in August 2019.
It was during this time that Dr Danko allegedly kissed the patient without her consent after writing her prescriptions for codeine, valium and CBD, a chemical found in cannabis, the court stated.
‘He hugged me and put his arms around me while he kissed me. So he couldn’t get me away from it either,” the patient told the court.
‘I remember I was shaking during that. He was really horrible and he did it for a long time and it was really disgusting and I hated it.
‘It was really strange and felt really horrible. “It was really invasive.”
The court said it was “comfortably satisfied that Dr. Danko used the treatment relationship to attempt to form an intimate and sexual relationship with the patient by offering to pay for the cannabidiol if she maintained a sexual relationship or dating relationship with him.” .
But the doctor denied using the treatment relationship to engage in a sexual relationship with the woman.
He also denied offering to pay for CBD if she had a sexual relationship or sweet dating relationship, or that he kissed her without her consent.
Dr. Danko had offered to prescribe CBD to patients and pay for them, the court found.
Dr. Danko had offered to prescribe CBD to patients and pay for them, the court found.
The court found that Dr. Danko had “failed to maintain professional boundaries” with the woman by maintaining an “intimate and sexual” relationship with her and making “unsolicited physical and sexual contact” (the text messages sent by Dr. Danko are seen in blue).
‘He suggested that as part of the deal to get the cannabis, we could enter into some sort of sex work dating relationship. “I don’t remember her exact words,” the woman told the court.
Dr. Danko admitted that he was “pressuring” the patient to be intimate and had also “considered” the possibility of a romantic relationship with her.
He had told the patient that if she stayed with him it would be only as friends, but she admitted that she hoped the relationship would be romantic.
On August 17, 2019, he texted the woman with the message: ‘And yes, I want to help you. Without any expectation of sexual favors.
‘Leave that completely now.
“I think I was offering too much and expecting too much in return and both need to be scaled back if we are to proceed in a way we are both comfortable with.”
The court said it is “comfortably satisfied that Dr. Danko sought a sexual relationship in exchange for paying for the patient’s CBD.”
Dr. Danko claimed that the woman had agreed to kiss him, but after the encounter sent him a message saying: “I am exhausted after days of talking about your life, relationships, sexual needs and feeling pressured to do it versus not wanting to.” to.
The doctor should also have been aware that the patient was “intrinsically vulnerable”, the court concluded.
“Making me kiss you after you wrote me a script for my medication and gave me money to fix my room was so wrong.”
According to Dr. Danko’s version of events, he said he had kissed her and asked her if it was better than their first kiss, to which she responded “yes.”
The doctor should also have been aware that the patient was “intrinsically vulnerable”, the court concluded.
She had told him she had health anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and that she was a victim of sexual abuse.
The patient had also told Dr. Danko that she had a history of drug dependence, substance abuse, accidental overdose, and suicidal tendencies.
The matter will be heard again at an administrative hearing on May 22.
Dr Danko now sports a mullet and regularly shares videos of himself performing songs on his acoustic guitar in northern New South Wales.