A Sydney GP is facing the prospect of 25 years in jail after being found guilty of indecently assaulting and drugging female patients at an inner-west sleep clinic.
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Ali Khorami was allowed to walk free from the Downing Centre District Court on Monday, despite the likelihood of receiving a lengthy prison sentence.
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for two days before finding the 49-year-old guilty of 22 offences including indecent assault and administering an intoxicating substance to commit an indictable offence.
He was also found not guilty of three charges and refused to comment to media as he ran from the court.
Khorami will return to court on Tuesday where the Crown prosecution will apply for his bail to be revoked before he is sentenced at a later date.
Khorami had his registration cancelled by the Medical Council of NSW in October 2018 after he was accused of masturbating in front of the sleeping patients and placing his penis on them.
He was found guilty of indecently assaulting four women including a 16-year-old at the Woolcock Clinic in Glebe from July to August 2018.
He admitted to putting his penis in the teenager's hand but pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting her, claiming it was consensual.
During the two-and-a-half-week trial, he said that it was a form of "tantric healing" and the act was not sexual.
However, under cross-examination, the woman denied the claim, saying she did not believe in alternative therapy.
Khorami also admitted to taking out his penis next to a 29-year-old woman as she slept.
However, he denied that he had masturbated in front of her and gave evidence that it was a "sacred" penis-rubbing ritual.
He was also convicted of drugging a fifth female patient after placing a sleeping pill, Temazepam, into her orange juice without her knowledge.
The charge of administering an intoxicating substance to commit an indictable offence carries a maximum possible jail term of 25 years.
In a statement, the Woolcock Clinic said it had implemented several additional patient security measures after learning of the allegations and had cooperated with the police investigation.
"We also implemented an external audit of sleep studies," the clinic said in a statement.
"We also enhanced our protocols so that all sleep technicians must be monitored by another staff member if they enter a patient's room during a sleep study."
Australian Associated Press
