A Perth naturopath, whose brother is already behind bars for molesting female patients, has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for sexually abusing five women after giving them bogus diagnoses.
Rodrigo Andres Bascunan Cabrera, 44, was found guilty by a District Court jury of abusing the women during consultations at the successful northern suburbs practice he ran with his brother, Mauricio.
The offences were committed between 2013 and 2017.
The women had gone to see him seeking help for conditions including shoulder pain, coeliac disease and lupus, and he abused them after falsely telling them he needed to do a physical examination.
Judge Timothy Sharp said all the victims had consulted Bascunan Cabrera because they considered him to be a healer.
He told the 44-year-old none of the examinations he conducted were warranted in any way and he had breached the trust of his victims, including some who were "desperate" for help.
Offences carried out for Cabrera's sexual gratification: Judge
Judge Sharp described the offences as "brazen" and said they were carried out for Bascunan Cabrera's own sexual gratification.
The court heard earlier that despite being found guilty, Bascunan Cabrera still maintains his innocence and claims the offences never happened.
Earlier this year, his 39-year-old brother, Mauricio, was sentenced to six years jail after he was found guilty of molesting another 18 female patients.
He will have to serve four years before he can be released on parole while Rodrigo will have to serve three and a half years of his term before being considered for release.
With time already served, Rodrigo will first be eligible for parole in 2025, while Mauricio will be in jail until at least 2026.
Abuse 'stole' victim's trust in medical profession
One of Rodrigo's victims was in court for the sentencing.
She said while the sentence was lower than she had expected, she was glad he was jailed.
The woman, who is in her 30s, said the case had taken a huge toll on her, and affected her ability to trust medical professionals.
"Myself and the other girls went there all seeking some healing of some sort, and unfortunately he took advantage of that vulnerability for his own sexual gratification, which is disgusting."
"That trust with any medical profession is now stolen."
