Praveen Thottappilil

The Courier
Psychiatrist pleads guilty
By Hayley Elg
December 1, 2021 Wednesday

— Excerpt

A court has heard about the “serious offending” of a former Ballarat psychiatrist who sexually assaulted two “vulnerable” clients.

Dr Praveen Thottappilil, who ran Australian Mental Health Services – Ballarat on Drummond Street, pleaded guilty to nine offences at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The police prosecutor told the court two women had made complaints about the psychiatrist, who is currently suspended from practice. Both were diagnosed with mental illnesses and Thottappilil saw them regularly for treatment and to prescribe medication…

Around early 2019 he started to show her pornographic videos on his mobile phone and after one session where the woman was in a particularly distressed state he blocked her from leaving, wrapped his arms around her, slid his hands up her top and squeezed her breasts before pressing his hips forward so she could feel his erect penis against her backside. He then told her he wanted to lick her nipples. In their next session he told her he had thought about her while he was masturbating in the shower…

Thottappilil’s lawyer, Sean Cash, said his client had “lost everything” including his $250,000 annual salary and the reason for the offending was that his client’s arranged marriage turned out to be “incompatible” with his expectations…