Former receptionist alleges sexual harassment by Winnipeg doctor charged with sexual assault

A former clinic receptionist who worked with a doctor recently accused of nine counts of sexual assault says she came forward to her employer in 2013 with allegations of sexual harassment.

"I had to live with it every day. I had to go to sleep thinking about it every single day. There's still moments where it does, it still hurts me. It hurts me for these women," said Amanda Seniuk.

In October, Dr. Amir Ravesh was charged with sexual assault involving a 19-year-old female patient. In early November, Dr. Ravesh was charged again after eight more female patients came forward alleging he sexually assaulted them.

Ravesh was released on bail but cannot practice medicine and must follow other conditions. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.

Winnipeg police confirm Seniuk brought forward a complaint after the first woman came forward, but they did not have grounds to pursue a criminal investigation. Seniuk believes her past employers could have done more to help her when she came forward four years ago.

"It's made me lose all trust and hope, especially in male doctors."

Alleged requests for massages

In early 2013, Seniuk, 31, said Dr. Amir Ravesh joined You! Medical Centre, where she worked as a receptionist. At first, she says he was a "good fit" for the clinic and she enjoyed working with him.

"After just a few short weeks of being in there really, he started requesting for massages, saying that he had worked long hours, he said that he was really sore," she alleged.

Seniuk said she turned down his alleged requests, but they became more persistent. After about a week, she said she complained to You! Medical Centre manager Andrew Chubey. After that, she said, the doctor's alleged behaviour stopped.

Soon after, Ravesh left You! Medical Centre for Prana Family Medical Clinic, leaving the former clinic without a doctor, and Seniuk without full-time work. Dr. Ravesh helped her get a receptionist position at Prana. She said she took the job because at the time, she was a single mother going through a divorce and was desperate for the hours.

Seniuk said she believed the doctor's alleged requests for massages were over, but she alleged Ravesh started pressuring her for massages there, too.

"It started to become very more persistent and he would say, 'I can make you financially happy' and he would show me his paycheque," she said.

"He would request that I was to give him massages in a third-party place."

She said she just wanted the alleged harassment to end, which is why she reportedly gave in one Saturday morning when they were alone in the clinic together. Ravesh had helped her get the job there, and often reminded her of that, she said.

"I was absolutely petrified that I was going to lose my job. He knew that I was in a financial situation, he knew I was going through a divorce; I very much felt like I had no other option. I very much felt cornered," she said.

"I gave him what was meant to be a lower leg massage, which escalated very extremely fast when he would grab my hands and he put them in his groin area and he wanted me to give him a massage in the groin area," she alleged.

"That is immediately when I stepped back, I stopped, I said 'I'm not doing this' and I walked away from the situation."

Complaint filed

Seniuk said she complained to the clinic owner and manager. She said they told her they would investigate.

During the week-long investigation, Seniuk continued working with Dr. Ravesh.

"The behaviour got worse. He started yelling at me in front of patients. Yelling, screaming at me," she alleged.

The managers told her they concluded their investigation and she said they told her Dr. Ravesh denied her allegations. The only solution they could see was to separate them, she said.

But she said there was still too much overlap with her schedule and the doctor's, so she quit.

Seniuk returned to You! Medical Centre and met with Andrew Chubey, she said, and told him about her alleged experience with Dr. Ravesh at Prana.

At the time, she was pregnant, and without options for employment. She said he agreed to hire her back after her baby was born.

Shortly before she planned to return to You! Medical Centre in spring 2014, Seniuk found out Dr. Ravesh was once again working there full-time. Meanwhile, she was not hired back.

The CBC attempted to reach Dr. Ravesh through his lawyer, Martin Minuk, but he did not respond.

He has previously refused to comment on matters involving his client. 

Clinics respond

After hearing news of the first female patient complaining to police, Seniuk immediately went to police and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba to make statements of her own. Her complaint did not result in a criminal charge.

"Someone's [alleged] behaviour can cross all kinds of lines of impropriety, but the standard for criminal charges is quite significant, and this didn't meet that," said Cst. Rob Carver, with the Winnipeg Police.

When reached by the CBC, Davood Danaee, the former owner of Prana Family Medical Centre, confirmed that Seniuk had launched a complaint against Dr. Ravesh back in 2013, but he could not provide details, citing a lack of consent of the parties involved.

He said he could not remember if he and the clinic manager went to the College of Physicians and Surgeons over Seniuk's allegation, and that he was "saddened" by the sexual assault allegations against the physician.

To his knowledge, he said, there were no other complaints regarding the conduct of Dr. Ravesh while he was at Prana Family Medical Centre.

In a statement, You! Medical Centre manager Andrew Chubey confirmed that a former employee came forward with a complaint about Dr. Ravesh several years ago.

"I raised the concern with Dr. Ravesh, and he provided an answer that I considered to be satisfactory at the time," he wrote.

"To my knowledge, that was the sole concern brought to me about Dr. Ravesh's conduct prior to the criminal investigation reported in the media."

That same employee left You! Medical for other employment. However, she later re-applied with us, knowing that Dr. Ravesh was once again working in the clinic."

In November, in response to the sexual assault allegations, Chubey had stated, "Prior to the contact from the police, we had not been made aware of concerns regarding Dr. Ravesh's conduct."

It was that statement that upset Seniuk, and prompted her to come forward.

'She's a hero'

Seniuk went to school to be a receptionist but works at Tim Hortons now, because she says the thought of working in a clinic again scares her.

She said she hopes for justice, and wants to thank the 19-year-old woman who spoke up despite fearing no one would believe her.

"She's a hero in my eyes. It takes one person to make a difference and she made that difference."

Seniuk hopes in some way, she's also helping other women who feel they cannot speak.

"The only reason why I came clean, why I gave my name, why I gave my face is because I wanna put a name to a victim."