Vignesh Ramasamy: Sir Charles Gairdner doctor cops seven year medical ban over child abuse material conviction

A former Sir Charles Gairdner hospital doctor who was jailed for possessing almost 80,000 child abuse images has been banned from working in the medical field for seven years. WARNING: CONFRONTING DETAILS Vignesh Ramasamy was jailed in August last year after detectives from the WA Police child exploitation operations squad arrested him at his Myaree home in September 2023. Investigators seized his mobile phone, desktop computer and hard drives before a forensic analysis uncovered more than 78,000 abuse photographs and a shocking abuse video. At the time of his arrest, his computer was “actively downloading multiple files of child abuse material from a Torrent browser”. Ramasamy was also in possession of images depicting bestiality and disturbed photographs he had taken of a young female child. Documents released by the State Administrative Tribunal show Ramasamy made several admissions to police, including that he had been “downloading and watching child exploitation material for about 10 to 13 years”. He told investigators he started watching the abuse material in his mid-20s and that he “prefers females between the ages of 12 and 16 years of age”. Ramasamy admitted he had a compulsion to take photos of the public, including the legs of young children. After being charged with three offences by police — two counts of possessing child exploitation material and one count of possessing indecent material — the doctor pleaded guilty to each of the offences. On August 7 last year he was jailed for one year and three months. The Medical Board of Australia on Monday disqualified him from applying for his medical registration for seven years during a SAT hearing. Ramasamy was suspended from his job at Sir Charles Gairdner several weeks before he was charged, meaning he will have been out of practice for almost nine years before he can reapply. He was also ordered to pay $3000 to cover the cost of the hearing. The documents said he had been working as an intern or resident doctor at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital since January 2022, with his offending a breach of multiple medical codes of conduct. “(He) failed to meet the standards of conduct expected of all registered medical practitioners in Australia.” “The respondent regrets, and accepts responsibility for, his actions. He has recognised the error of his ways and sought treatment in relation to his conduct.” The former doctor — who remains in jail and is undergoing mental health treatment — will not be able to reapply for his registration until 2032.