Jury deliberations begin in Regina chiropractor's sexual assault trial

The sexual assault trial of Regina-area chiropractor Ruben Manzhas enteredits final stageat Court of King's Bench on Friday.

Justice Janet McMurtry has provided directions to a jury of 12 people, who weredeliberating as of early Friday afternoon.

Manz, 49, is accused of sexually assaulting seven women who were his patientsover the course of decade,between 2010 and 2020.He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During the nearly four-week trial, which began on Nov. 4, the jury heard fromManz, who testified in his own defence, and the women accusinghim of assaulting them.

Under examination fromCrown prosecutor Jackie Lane, each of the seven women testified that Manz would reachunder their bras and touch their breasts while stretching their necks.

During closing arguments,Lane argued Manz had access to the womenas a trusted medical caregiver, and betrayed that trust bytouchingthem sexually without their consentand without legitimate medical purpose.

Defence lawyer Kathy Hodgson-Smith argued in her closing statement that Manz is a family man who loved his job and always acted appropriately as a chiropractor. Hodgson-Smith pointed to Manz's willingness to break down details of the medical reports of the witnesses during his testimony.

Manz was asked several times to define terminologyand explain to the court the process of a regular chiropractic appointment. The defence has argued the type of neck stretch Manz performed is part of legitimate chiropractic treatment, and that heperformed the stretch appropriately and did not purposely touch the witnesses' breasts for a sexual reason.

Another chiropractorbrought inas an expert witness for the defence earlier this week saidManz followed the industry standard of care in regard to consent, diagnosing, treatment and record keeping.

"It was all legitimate chiropractic treatment," Hodgson-Smith told the jury Wednesday.

Hodgson-Smith also said Manz remained consistent under cross-examination, without contradictions.

The defencealso called the seven accusers"unreliable," saying their accounts of what happened were influenced by the police officer who was leading the case.

Crown attorneysdisputed that characterization, describing each of the witnesses as brave for choosing to share their testimonies.

A prosecutor asked the jury if they wanted to live in a world where sex assaults go without any consequences.