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Former Saskatoon doctor Krishna Vittala sentenced to jail for sexual assaults

Former Saskatoon doctor Krishna Vittala was taken into custody Wednesday after a Queen’s Bench judge sentenced him to a year in jail followed by two years of probation for sexual assaults against two patients and a co-worker from a local medical clinic.

The 69-year-old – who has late-stage prostate cancer – was convicted of the charges following a trial last month, but sentencing was delayed because he was subsequently hospitalized.

Defense lawyer Bill Roe, who had argued for a community-based sentence, told reporters Vittala may appeal his convictions.

Justice Neil Gabrielson found him guilty June 10 of sexually assaulting the victims with inappropriate touching during a series of incidents at different Saskatoon clinics between 2004 and 2008.

Distraught at the sight of him struggling to climb into the back of a prisoner transport van to begin serving his sentence, Vittala’s daughter Mimi told reporters his family and many former patients are convinced he is innocent and remain “unwavering” in their support.

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