Doctor ‘saw nothing wrong happening’ ...

By Janet Fife-Yeomans
Australian
December 9, 2014

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/doctor-saw-nothing-wrong-happening-at-sydney-ashram-where-children-were-raped-and-beaten/story-e6frg6n6-1227149797787

Dr Henry Sztulman giving evidence.

Swami Akhandananda Saraswati.

Doctor ‘saw nothing wrong happening’ at Sydney ashram where children were raped and beaten

THE doctor at a Sydney ashram where children were beaten and raped by the guru saw nothing wrong happening, the child sex abuse royal commission was told today.

Dr Henry Sztulman even gave evidence for guru, Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, at his trial for child sexual assault charges because he did not believe the young women who said they were forced to have sex with the swami, the commission heard.

He said that he never saw any evidence that the children were beaten and slapped and had “no idea” that Akhandananda and his second in charge, Shishy, whose name has been suppressed, were having sex even though they slept together in the same room.

Dr Sztulman, who lived at the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain ashram from 1979 for a decade, said he found Akhandananda charismatic and held him in high regard.

“He seemed to be a man of wisdom. He had incredible knowledge of yoga. Those were the things that attracted me,” Dr Sztulman said.

The commission heard that he continues to practise as a doctor after being reprimanded by the Medical Tribunal in 2002 and found guilty of professional misconduct for prescribing drugs of addiction, benzodiazepines and codeine.

The tribunal found Dr Sztulman to be naive, irresponsible and easily manipulated.

“It could well be that his insulation from general practise while at the ashram contributed to his limited understanding of the issues of manipulative drug addicted patients,” the tribunal said in its judgment.

Dr Sztulman told the commission that when he realised the truth about Akhandananda, it hit him like an “earthquake.”

But he said the children seemed healthy, happy and well-cared for.

The royal commission sitting in Sydney is investigating the response of the ashram between 1974 and 2014 to allegations or reports of child sexual abuse made against Akhandananda, who has since died of alcoholism.

He was convicted of child sex offences in the late 1980s but the convictions were subsequently overturned by the High Court because the charges had been time-barred.

The hearing continues.