A children’s rights organisation is accusing the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) of dereliction of its duties by allowing a dentist sentenced for the sexual abuse of a teenager to continue to practise in George, reports Rapport.
Dr Ian Venter was sentenced to four years’ correctional supervision in 2011 for having sex with a teenaged boy (15).
In 2015, he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, convicted of that offence in 2019, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
The HPSCA said it received complaints from the public and found Venter guilty of unprofessional conduct in 2022. His registration was suspended and he was prohibited from treating children during that period.
The HPSCA does not routinely check the sex offenders’ list, the regulator said.
Luke Lamprecht from Women and Men Against Child Abuse said the HPCSA’s actions are “completely insufficient and point to a larger problem of a lack of clearance procedures for health workers”.
He said Venter would not have been allowed to continue his profession if he were a teacher.
“Why must the Council for Educators ensure that teachers are cleared and check the national sex offenders’ list when similar rules do not exist for professional bodies where their members work with children?”
Rapport article – Pedofiel-tandarts mag nog praktiseer, sê mediese raad (Restricted access)
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