B.C. chiropractor charged with 2 counts of sexual assault

A Vernon chiropractor has been charged with sexual assault stemming from incidents that allegedly took place in December 2021.

Murray Stephen Kievit will appear in Vernon court today (Jan. 18) to fix a date for another appearance.

Kievit is charged with two counts of sexual assault against the same complainant following incidents alleged to have occurred on Dec. 7 and 9, 2021, in Vernon, confirmed Dan McLaughlin, communications counsel with the BC Prosecution Service.

Kievit practices in Vernon at the White House Wellness Centre, which, according to its website, he founded in 2006. Kievit graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1992 and currently owns the White House Wellness Centre on 27th Street.

According to the College of Chiropractors of British Columbia, Kievit’s current status is “full.” He has no conditions on his licence.

He does, however, have past disciplinary actions on his record.

According to the college, in August 2009, Kievit admitted to failing to obtain consent from a patient before placing his hands in the front of her pants and touching the area of the pubic bone.

It was also determined his use of a teddy bear during treatment “was without clinical benefit, inappropriate to any intended clinical purpose, and demonstrated a lack of gender sensitivity,” according to the college.

Kievit was reprimanded by the college, suspended for three months and required to have a chaperone present for two years when treating female patients “involving sexually sensitive areas.” He also had to attend a course on gender sensitivity, boundary issues and communication, and write an apology letter to the complainant.

Kievit was ordered to pay costs of $4,904 for the incident.

In August 2000, it was found that Kievit did not meet care standards pertaining to communication, note-taking, treatment techniques and respect for patient privacy, again in relation to treating a patient’s pubic area, which resulted in “unintentional violations of their sexual integrity,” a college disciplinary notice states.

The college ordered him to stop treating pubic areas until he had provided a letter confirming his qualification to do so, “to communicate his treatment plan fully to all female patients so there could be no misunderstanding as to the nature and purpose of the treatment,” and to maximize patient privacy and minimize contact with patients’ breasts or genitals.

He also had to submit to an office inspection within two years to confirm compliance, and had to write an apology letter to each of the complainants. The disciplinary notice does not say exactly how many complainants there were in this case.

Kievit was ordered to pay a fine of $4,000 and costs of $15,000.