An anesthesiologist was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for what a judge called "reprehensible" sexual assaults on 21 sedated women during surgeries – violations that left his victims with lasting emotional damage. "The profound psychological impact of the physical violations has been compounded by the victims' deep feelings of betrayal – that these offences were committed during surgery, by a medical doctor, in an operating room, a place of ultimate vulnerability and trust," McCombs said in sentencing Doodnaught. ( Photo / Canadian Press ) 
 
 His conduct was “reprehensible in the extreme,” Superior Court Justice David McCombs said in his decision. Though Doodnaught was sentenced to 10 years, he may not spend much time in custody. Doodnaught intends to appeal his convictions, and the Court of Appeal for Ontario is set to hear an application Wednesday to let him out on bail pending the appeal. Story continues below advertisement 
 
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 The woman, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, had a mass on several organs when she went in for a hysterectomy in 2010. Hidden from the doctors and nurses, Doodnaught fondled the breasts of sedated female patients, kissed their mouths and forced them to perform oral sex and masturbation, McCombs found. "Never once during this whole process, even when I was on the stand, when I was giving my victim impact statement, at any time, did he look at me," she said outside court. “He’s a coward,” she said. Doodnaught’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said Doodnaught and his family are disappointed by the convictions. “Ten years, as far as I’m concerned, is insulting.” The judge made his decision based on the law, and the laws need to change, she said. While there were only 21 patients involved in the criminal case, the notice of hearing contains allegations that Doodnaught sexually abused 30 patients. Patients had made three formal sexual assault complaints to North York General Hospital about Doodnaught before a complaint in 2010 sparked a criminal investigation. They became more frequent until Doodnaught was caught, with the first six spread over three and a half years and 15 others in the last six months before he was stopped. His medical licence was suspended, but the College of Physicians and Surgeons still has to hold a disciplinary hearing, which could lead to it being revoked. The hospital’s chief of anesthesiology was aware of the complaints but the senior hospital administration only learned of them after the 2010 complaint was made, McCombs found in his ruling.
– One of his victims clapped as George Doodnaught got led away in handcuffs, and it's hard to blame her: The Toronto anesthesiologist got sentenced to 10 years in prison today for sexually assaulting her and 20 other women during surgery. The victims were "sedated but still aware of their surroundings" during the assaults, reports AFP. The 65-year-old fondled them and forced oral sex on them, among other things. In the recovery room, he would tell the women that they had initiated once the drugs kicked in. “Never once during this whole process, even when I was on the stand, when I was giving my victim impact statement, at any time, did he look at me,” the woman who clapped tells the Globe and Mail. “He’s a coward.” Doodnaught worked at North York General for 26 years, and all but one of the victims had surgery there between 2006 and 2010, reports the Toronto Star. He was often separated from the rest of the medical team with a surgical drape. Though not part of the criminal case, allegations of about 10 other assaults date back to 1992.