WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122. All programs are easily accessible, free of charge and confidential.

After a six-month hiatus, the sexual assault trial of a former Vernon chiropractor continued in Vernon court Thursday, Jan. 23, with the cross-examination of the accused honing in on the issue of informed consent, and what consent looks like in a professional setting that involves the touching of sensitive areas of the body. 

Murray Kievit, 60, stands accused of two counts of sexual assault against a single complainant, alleged to have occurred at two treatment sessions while Kievit was a practicing chiropractor in Vernon in December 2021. The complainant can't be named due to a publication ban. 

The trial began in August 2024, at which time the complainant took the stand and testified Kievit had touched her breasts without her consent during a treatment session, and then touched her pubic area without her consent at another session two days later. 

At the outset of the trial, the Crown prosecutor told Justice David Ruse she anticipated that "what this will come down to is consent, whether or not she consented."

At the time of the alleged offences, Kievit was a chiropractor at White House Wellness Centre, which he founded in 2006. Last summer, amid the sexual assault allegations, he had his registration permanently cancelled by the College of Chiropractors of B.C. He told the court on Thursday that he retired from the profession after his 30-plus year career in part due to the negative publicity, and ended up selling his clinic. 

In August 2024, prior to a mid-trial adjournment, the court heard that the complainant sought treatment after experiencing pain as a result of multiple surgeries. She ended up doing five treatment sessions with Kievit and alleged the sexual assaults took place on the final two sessions, the first involving the touching of her breasts, and the second the touching of her vaginal area. She told the court that Kievit did not tell her what he was going to do before doing it in terms of treatment involving the touching of these areas of her body. 

Kievit took the stand on Thursday and defence counsel Michael Klein began by asking him to explain a consent form he'd had the complainant sign. Kievit described the form as outlining various but rare injury risks associated with chiropractic treatment. 

He then said there is a "clear portion in the consent form that talks about if you have any questions or concerns at any time throughout your treatment, you can voice those concerns and we can stop treatment at any time."

Kievit said he initiated treatment in the first of the five sessions (the complainant previously testified that this session transpired without incident), and his lawyer asked him to describe various chiropractic procedures. One such procedure was a pubic bone adjustment, which Kievit said he learned from one of his clinical advisors during an internship in 1991. 

Kievet said during his assessment he found stiffness in the complainant's pelvic joints which necessitated a pubic bone adjustment.

The accused said at various times he had to move or pull down the complainant's clothing, at times in order to apply cream so that a massage tool could be used to run over the length of her muscles. 

"It's a pretty open dialogue," Kievit said when asked how he communicates with patients, including the complainant, before moving clothing and touching parts of the body. 

Multiple times during the defence's questioning, Kieivt denied cupping the complainant's vagina, as was alleged. He said while he had to pull her pants down slightly to expose part of the pubic bone, he did not expose her vagina, and he was engaging in legitimate chiropractic treatment.

In cross examination, Crown prosecutor Michelle Reinhart went through the minute details of where Kievit's hands and fingers were on the complainant's body and when. 

She asked him how he received consent when working on "sexually sensitive areas" when treating the complainant's pectoral muscle and pubic bone. 

Kievit said he believed he had consent to treat these areas because she never told him to stop the treatment when he was touching these areas, or at any other point in the treatment.

Reinhart asserted that based on his previous testimony, Kievit had been explaining what he was doing to the complainant as he was doing it, and that in order to have consent, he needed to explain what he would do before doing it, as is outlined in a B.C. chiropractor's handbook that she had him read parts of. Kievit said he did explain what procedures he would be doing in advance of doing them. 

"I told her I would be touching her pubic bone. I thought she knew what that meant," Kievit said. 

Reinhart said in order for consent to be valid, patients must be informed of the treatment being administered in a way they can understand. She argued Kievit failed to obtain consent before touching her, adding "you didn't know what was going on in her mind."

"She didn't say yes," Reinhart asserted.

"She didn't say no," Kievit responded. 

He followed this exchange by saying he didn't believe verbal consent was mandatory in this context. 

Kievit conceded that he didn't offer a chaperone or give the complainant the option to be treated over or under her clothing when touching her pectoral muscles. 

"I guess I didn't. I didn't think I needed to," he said. 

"I thought I was being clear and effective to the best of my knowledge."

The matter will return to court on April 11, when the judge will hear closing submissions from the lawyers.