Court report outlines MD’s dark side

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This article was published 05/09/2009 (5874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ross Brown appeared to have it all — a distinguished medical career, a Hall of Fame distinction with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a loving family and the respect of numerous community leaders.

But beneath the bright exterior lurked something much darker. The 72-year-old doctor had been fighting an addiction to illicit pornography for several years before his involvement in an international criminal case that ended this week with him being hauled off to jail.

The Free Press has obtained a detailed forensic report filed with the court that chronicles Brown’s dramatic fall from grace. It’s a case that legal experts say proves just how insidious and unpredictable these types of crimes can be.

Dr. Jeffrey Waldman, a psychiatrist at Health Sciences Centre, met with Brown on multiple occasions and concluded he suffers from "paraphilia."

"Paraphilias are recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviours that can involve non-human objects that occur over a period of at least six months," Waldman wrote in his report. "The behaviour causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning."

In this case, sexual images of children were the "non-human objects."

Brown was arrested in 2006 after his name surfaced during an FBI probe of a child-abuse case involving a 12-year-old Georgia girl. Police discovered a website containing modelling-type photos of the girl and learned the administrative contact was listed as Brown.

He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years of supervised probation this week after admitting to having 5,000 pornographic photos involving children as young as two engaged in explicit sex acts, including bondage and bestiality. Brown also had 30 videos and a PowerPoint presentation on child pornography on two home computers.

Waldman said Brown’s interest with pornography began about eight years earlier, around the same time he became impotent.

"He stated that he began collecting young adult images, mostly late teens. However, he also acknowledges collecting some early teen pictures as well. He denied any interest in prepubescent images," he said. "He reported rarely, if ever, masturbating to pornographic images. He reported clinical detachment when looking at pornographic images."

Wadman said Brown "acknowledged… it did become a problem and that he looked at a variety of images in a habitual fashion. His interest in these images escalated over time up until the time of his arrest," Waldman said.

He said there was nothing in Brown’s childhood to predict what would happen so many years later.

Brown grew up in British Columbia, but never knew his biological father. He was raised by his mother until the age of three, then adopted by his aunt and uncle. Brown began working at the age of 12, making deliveries for pharmacies. He eventually went to medical school to start a very successful career.

Brown reported no history of physical or sexual abuse, no drug or alcohol issues and no mental illness. He said he didn’t have a sexual relationship until he met his wife at the age of 22, describing himself as "very shy." The couple has now been married 45 years. Brown’s wife retired as a nurse nearly 40 years ago to be a stay-at-home mother to their two children, both of whom told Waldman there were no issues with Brown.

"(His 43-year-old son) stated his father is the first person he would turn to if he were ever going through a difficult time. He reported the family is shocked by the charges," Waldman said. "However, it has never changed his opinion of his father. He continues to have no concerns of his children having ongoing contact with his father, and has never seen throughout his life any inappropriate sexual behaviour by his father in the presence of his children."

Brown admitted having one extramarital affair with a woman, but denied any other sexual indiscretions, Waldman said.

"Despite his many years of working with students, nursing colleagues and patients, he has never been investigated for a complaint of sexually inappropriate behaviour," the psychiatrist said.

At the time of his arrest, Brown was the vice-president for clinical care in the department of radiology at St. Boniface General Hospital. He retired a short time later. Hospital officials launched an internal investigation and later reported that no allegations had surfaced of improper conduct with any patients.

Waldman said Brown is at extremely low risk of reoffending for any type of offence. Brown is now trying to start a new career as a photographer while struggling to cope with the impact of his crime. When he’s released from jail, he will be banned from being alone with children.

"He continues to feel traumatized by his experiences since his arrest, in particular his involvement with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority," Waldman said. "Dr. Brown continues to feel judged based on this offence rather than the other accomplishments he has had throughout his life."

Brown was president of the community-owned Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1988 when the team won the Grey Cup in Ottawa, then stayed on for another year. He first joined the Bombers organization in 1982 as a member of the team’s board of directors. Brown was also a member of the 1991 Grey Cup planning committee. He was inducted into the football club’s Hall of Fame in 2006. The team announced this week it would review whether to strip him of his designation at an upcoming board meeting.

"He could be extremely pleasant to talk to when discussing his work history or some of his activities, such as his interest and involvement with the Blue Bombers," Waldman said. "However, he demonstrated appropriate and sincere sadness and frustration when discussing some of the challenges in his relationships and in his workplace resulting from the criminal charges."

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