Calgary anesthesiologist guilty of date rape

A Calgary anesthesiologist has been convicted of date rape.

Dr. Barry Wollach, 59, was charged with sexual assault in 2018, two years after he met a woman on Bumble, took her for dinner and then brought her to his home after she began to feel "woozy."

The two had sex but the victim testified she felt like she was under water and out of control, suspecting she had been drugged — an allegation Wollach denied. The doctor admitted to the sex but testified it was consensual.

On Monday, provincial court Judge Brian Stevenson convicted Wollach, finding there was "no air of reality" to the suggestion the doctor had a mistaken belief the woman consented.

• Calgary anesthesiologist suspended until drugging and rape allegations dealt with in court

Wollach worked in both Calgary and Lethbridge, administering sedatives to patients.

He continued to work even after he was accused of drugging and raping his victim. However, he was ordered to surrender his practising permit by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) after the organization was contacted by CBC News in January.

A publication ban protects the identity of Wollach's victim. CBC News is calling her Leah in this story.

Wollach's Google searches

The two met in November 2016 on the dating site Bumble and eventually went on a dinner date at a restaurant on 17th Avenue S.W. 

Leah testified she began to feel woozy during the dinner. The two left the restaurant and Wollach led her back to his nearby home.

Wollach testified the pair had consensual sex but Leah said she felt like she was underwater.

Afterward, Leah said Wollach soaped her down in his shower and then drove her home.

The next day, she went to the Sheldon Chumir urgent care centre, where she reported she'd been raped.

Key evidence presented by prosecutor Donna Spaner included Wollach's Google searches.

Wollach testified he went on dozens of dates around the time of his date with Leah. But when Det. Scott Mizibrocky contacted the accused two years after the rape, the only name Wollach Googled was his victim's.

He also searched the issue of consent after learning he was under investigation by the sex crimes unit and typed "Canada sexual assault statute of limitations" into the search engine.

Spaner and defence lawyer Balfour Der will be back in court next week to set a date for sentencing.