A Sydney pharmacist has had his registration cancelled after he sexually assaulted a young woman at a practice in 2019 after she came in to purchase a morning-after pill.
Warning: This story includes details some readers may find distressing.
NSW's Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) cancelled Hany Samir Youssef Ibrahim's registration on Wednesday, before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
He was prohibited from requesting a review of the cancellation order for two years and ordered to pay the HCCC's court costs.
Ibrahim was convicted of sexual intercourse without consent in the NSW District Court last May and sentenced to two years in prison, with a non-parole period of nine months.
He also failed to notify the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency when he was charged with the offence.
In July, 2019, the then-43-year-old was working at a Mascot Priceline Pharmacy when he sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman who came in to buy the morning-after pill.
Under the pretext of affording her privacy, Ibrahim invited her to enter a small office to talk about medication.
He closed the door and after several questions, claimed he could check if the customer's partner had "finished", before sexually assaulting her by digital penetration.
The practitioner initially denied the victim's allegations, but NCAT documents outline that changed after DNA evidence taken by police at the time became available.
The HCCC submitted to the tribunal that the offence was a "serious" sexual assault and an "egregious breach of trust".
In the District Court proceedings, his Honour Judge Williams SC remarked: "Once she indicated she was uncomfortable he asked her to keep it quiet."
"This involved a gross breach of trust on a vulnerable young woman, who was entitled to assume that a pharmacist could not act to her detriment when dealing with a particularly sensitive topic," Judge Williams found.
The HCCC's main complaint against Ibrahim was his failure to notify the regulation agency of the charge within seven days.
Despite owning a home and two rental properties with his wife, he emailed the court earlier this year requesting costs be waived as he does not "have the financial capacity to pay", according to court documents.
The properties were subject to mortgages, and he was renting elsewhere after "removing himself" from the family home.
