Chiropractor now charged in concealed-cameras case

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This article was published 14/02/2025 (252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg chiropractor accused of using concealed cameras to record unsuspecting patients is now charged with eight counts of voyeurism, court records show.

The charges against Dr. Robert Stitt are the result of a roughly year-long investigation that saw Winnipeg Police Service members raid the Natural Wellness Chiropractic Centre, seizing a recording device and five cameras hidden in fake sprinkler heads at the Portage Avenue office, search warrant documents show.

The Manitoba Chiropractors Association suspended Stitt’s license in January 2024, executive director Dana Forster confirmed for the first time this week.

“As a regulatory body, the Manitoba Chiropractors Association takes all complaints and regulatory obligations very seriously, with public safety being our top priority in all decisions… As soon as the MCA became aware of the allegations immediate steps were taken to ensure public safety,” Forster said in an emailed statement.

“The member’s suspension has remained in place and will remain in place pending the outcome of the matter.”

Forster said the association has been co-operating with police throughout the investigation.

The regulatory body was the first to spot the hidden cameras in Stitt’s office. Association board president Dr. Gerald Chartier visited the site to investigate a patient complaint alleging Stitt, 66, had engaged in inappropriate touching, WPS Const. Phillip Cole said in an affidavit obtained by the Free Press.

The documents state Stitt told Chartier he had a video recording of his interaction with the patient, believing it would exonerate him of wrongdoing. Chartier went to Stitt’s office and, while searching video files for a recording of the incident involving the complainant, he saw up to three women disrobing.

The documents said there were no signs to alert patients they were being recorded.

“One of the females was facing the camera with her breasts exposed. In these videos it appeared that the unknown females had no idea that they had been (recorded),” Cole’s affidavit said.

The association notified police, who launched an investigation. It’s unknown how long Stitt was recording patients without their consent, the documents said.

Court records show the charges against Stitt are for offences ranging from Nov. 29, 2023 to to Jan. 1, 2024.

Chiropractors are not included in Manitoba’s Regulated Health Professions Act, which requires public disclosure of disciplinary decisions against doctors, registered nurses and other health-care providers.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in December that work is underway to expand the law to include chiropractors and other health-care providers. The province was also exploring ways to improve disclosure and transparency, Asagwara said at the time.

“We are looking at what steps we can take right away,” the minister said. “Whether it’s through legislation, regulatory changes, policy — we are exploring all levers.”

City police have declined to comment on the investigation.

The charges against Stitt have not been tested in court. His next court date is set for April 1.

— with files from Dean Pritchard

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca