Drugs-for-sex MD wins full parole

A St. John's doctor sentenced to seven years in prison in 2008 for trading powerful prescription narcotics for sex with patients has been granted full parole, effective in January.

Sean Buckingham, 50, gave a quick "Thank you," to parole board members Wednesday when they announced their decision.

Parole Board of Canada membersgranted him full parole in January, when the current day parole he is onexpires.

In February, Buckingham's licence to practise medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador was revoked by the province's College of Physician and Surgeons, and his name was struck from the medical registry.

Earlier Wednesday,Buckingham admitted that what he didwas wrong.

"It was greed for life, greed for sex and greed for money that made me do those things," he said at a parole board hearing in St. John's to determine whetherhe shouldget full parole.

Before he was convicted in December of 2007, Buckingham traded prescription drugs, such as painkillers OxyContin and Percocet, for sex. One of his victims testified he tied her to a tree and sexually assaulted her.

Now on medication

Buckingham told the board Wednesday he was mentally ill,bipolar, when he committed his crimes and he was unable tocheck his behaviour.

With medication and psychiatric care, he said,he is now able to control what he does.

Buckingham was granted day parole for six monthslast March and beganliving at a halfway house in St. John's.

But his day parole was suspended in May and he was sent back to prison after it was reported to his parole officer that Buckingham was verbally and physically abusive to his mother and brother while visiting them.

It was alleged that Buckingham harmed his mother when he threw a set of car keys at her in anger.

It was also claimed that he was verbally abusive with his brother, who had smoked in a car that Buckingham used. He said it irritated his asthma.

After that, Buckingham was sent back to Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's.

Parole officer opposed

In July,at aparole board hearing, Buckingham's parole officer recommended that his day paroleshould be revoked and he should be kept in the penitentiary.

Despite that, the parole board panel reinstated his day parole, saying he didn't pose an undue risk to the public.

While the panel said it was clear that Buckingham has a troubled relationship with his brother, they also said there was no reason to believe hehad committed a crime or intended to harm his mother.

Parole board documents obtained by the CBC said a psychological assessment last winter found Buckingham's risk of committing sexual offences again was in the moderate-to-high range.

"Along with any interruption in your medication regime, the psychologist noted a return to your manic lifestyle, adopting negative attitudes that legitimize inappropriate sexual behaviour towards women and/or a return to associating with negative peers, may render your risk unmanageable," the document said.

The document also addressed what Buckingham said at his parole hearing in March.

"You admitted to abusing your position of trust by sexually abusing your victims in exchange for drugs," the report said. "You explained that you sexually assaulted your victims to cope with your depressed state of having a low self-esteem."