Dr Vishwamintra Persaud says the label of ‘sex offender’ has ruined him from the day he opted for a plea deal in a case involving a young girl, and he believes that he might eventually have to turn to pharmacy or “something like that” because of the stigma.
The fall he suffered was swift and painful, he said, noting that his licence to practise medicine in New York State was instantly revoked and he was left to ponder “what next and where.” He said his attorney advised that a plea deal would draw less publicity than a trial, and keep things on a low key until he was eligible to reapply for the licence.
“I decided to come back home to Guyana…” Dr Persaud told Stabroek News in an interview on Friday. The strain of the past weeks was etched across his face as he responded to questions, but he said he was not remorseful since his troubles were the result of a plan hatched to watch him fall from grace. The plan, he said, had worked brilliantly.
He recognized that his chances to work as a medical doctor here were slim following his recent sacking from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
“I came to Guyana with the hope of starting something new… a new life and I was doing pretty well – too well actually, because I ended up in the newspapers and that was it.” he said.
Persaud is counting on the Medical Council of Guyana, which is deliberating on his fate, to give him the second chance here he is craving. He said that his goal was to practise medicine somewhere in this country, because he had already been fired from the public hospital in the city.
He had considered shifting to research and becoming involved in more academic work in the wake of his sacking from the hospital, he said, but he still wanted to practise. “This is my expertise, this is what I am good at… I can look at people and diagnose problems easily and I like treating people,” he added.
He admitted that his interactions with the young girl could have been viewed as inappropriate, saying, “I touched her on her butt and in the groin area over her clothing.” However, he said that during those interactions he was not being predatory and would have done so harmlessly when he was playing with the children.
He said too that this would have happened over a period of time, but again repeated that it all happened innocently. Persaud said he had no issues admitting what he did, but that he had trouble understanding how he could be lumped into a category with men who abuse children.
“It is like people are using one broad brush to paint everyone… it is true that I am listed as child offender, but what did I do for people to be saying all manner of things about me,” he asked.
He said that Minister Priya Manickhand could perhaps explain to him what his actions towards the child meant in terms of sexual abuse, since she had such strong opinions. He noted that he was tempted to visit the Minister and ask her what his punishment should be and for how long.
‘I did not deceive the council’
The Medical Council of Guyana recently wrote Persaud to say that he had misrepresented information which he presented in his registration application. He is adamant that he did not deceive the council at any time, except that he submitted photocopies of original documentation; he was forced to surrender the original documents in the US.
He recalled that when he got to Guyana he applied for a licence and that nowhere on the form was he specifically asked about any past convictions. His case was different though, and according him, he met with the then chairman of the council, Dr Galton Roberts and CMO Dr Shamdeo Persaud and explained his circumstances. He was later granted an institutional licence, which limited him to one hospital and stipulated that he work under supervision; this was after he had failed to submit a certificate of good standing to the council.
Persaud said that he appeared before the new council recently and answered every question that was posed, without side-stepping anything that was asked. He said his story and what happened in the US had been “laid out in full” to the council.
“I’ve done nothing wrong in this country since I have been here… I never worked alone at GPHC; other doctors were always present when I am with patients,” he continued. He said his track record prior to the case in the US was spotless, adding that his work in the field of medicine had also been exemplary.
Disappointed
Persaud said he was disappointed in how he had been treated here because he is “human” and still had to continue living. He said he had worked hard over the years, struggling with full-time work and full-time studies to “get to the top.” He said too that his secondary education in Guyana was hard since his parents could hardly afford to send him to school.
According to him, he pressed on here and in the US to be the best and “I was.” He said that he rose to the top of his classes and handled his career well, but that he was now in a position where he could never do the work he wanted to do again because of the stigma attached to his conviction.
“I am just disappointed in how things unfolded,” he said, adding that clearing his name seemed like a better idea now than agreeing to a plea deal.
According to New York Department of Health documents, on April 18, 2008 Dr Persaud was found guilty, based on a guilty plea, of “attempted course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree.” On June 11 the same year he was sentenced to an eight-year order of protection, ten years probation, a US$25,500 fine and various fees and surcharges.
Dr Persaud abused the child from 2003 to October 2007 and only stopped after an adult was told. His licence, # 207867, was revoked in November 2007 following a hearing before the State of New York: Department of Health State Board for Professional Medical Con-duct. He is eligible to reapply for his licence in a few years.
