St. John's physician Sean Buckingham has been convicted on 12 of 18 counts following a two-month trial on drug trafficking and sexual assault charges.
The Newfoundland Supreme Court jury, which had been deliberating since last Wednesday, read its verdict on Monday afternoon.
Sean Buckingham, seen awaiting a jury's verdict on Monday, has been convicted on a dozen charges.
(CBC)
Buckingham was convicted of five counts of sexual assault, one assault charge and six trafficking charges.
Sitting upright as the verdicts were read, Buckingham, 47, showed little emotion. As he was led away in handcuffs, he simply said, "No comment" to reporters.
The jury found Buckingham not guilty of six charges. During the trial, Justice James Adams directed the jury to find Buckingham not guilty on five separate charges.
Buckingham will return to court on Dec. 20 for a sentencing hearing.
The jury heard sensational testimony during the course of the trial, including several women who testified they'd had sex with Buckingham in exchange for narcotics.
One woman told the jury that Buckingham had tied her to a tree in a park on the outskirts of St. John's, and then hit and sodomized her. In that case, the jury convicted Buckingham of sexual assault, but found him not guilty of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.
The prosecution produced into evidence wiretap phone calls that the Crown said showed Buckingham was also involved in selling painkillers on the street.
In one of the covertly recorded phone calls, Buckingham told a witness — who cannot be named because of a publication ban — that he wanted two "candy bars" back. The witness, a convicted drug dealer, told the jury that she conspired with Buckingham to sell prescription painkillers on the street.
Buckingham strongly denied the charges against him, with the defence casting the complainants as vengeful drug addicts who turned to the courts after Buckingham cut off their drug supply.
The defence also pointed out that most of the complainants had inconsistencies in their testimony when compared with what they originally told police or the preliminary inquiry.
However, the jury appears to have largely agreed with the Crown, which cast Buckingham as a rogue physician who broke the law.
Buckingham was arrested in May 2005, following a lengthy police investigation into the street sale of prescription painkillers, particularly OxyContin.
Buckingham, who practised alone in downtown St. John's, closed his office in 2005.
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Audio
- Listen to wiretap recordings of Sean Buckingham, as presented in evidence at his trial(Warning: some language is strong) (Runs: 23:56)
- Play: Real Media »
Video
- Glenn Payette reports on the conviction of Sean Buckingham (Runs: 2:37)
- Play: QuickTime »
- Play: Real Media »
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