Victim of Butcher of Bega breaks down in court after coming face to face with doctor who mutilated her as prosecutors try to get him thrown back in jail
- Carolyn DeWaegeneire's genitals were surgically removed by former gynaecologist Graeme Stephen Reeves in August 2002
- The rogue practitioner mutilated his patient's clitoris and labia without consent during an operation on a pre-cancerous lesion
- He was found guilty in 2011 but served just 18 months of his three-and-a-half years sentence behind bars
- The disgraced doctor was released from Sydney's Long Bay prison in December
A woman whose genitals were mutilated by a disgraced gynaecologist has broken down outside a Sydney courtroom on Friday after facing the man she says devastated her life.
Graeme Stephen Reeves, dubbed the Butcher of Bega, served just 18 months behind bars after he was found guilty for maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on patient Carolyn DeWaegeneire.
The rogue practitioner, who worked in Bega on the NSW south coast, surgically removed her clitoris and labia without consent during an operation on a pre-cancerous lesion in August 2002.
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He was sentenced to a maximum three-and-a-half years jail in 2011 but was released on parole from Sydney's Long Bay prison in December after he successfully appealed to the High Court.
This consequently sparked outrage among Ms DeWaegeneire's supporters and patient advocates.
Crown prosecutors want the 64-year-old back behind bars for another year after previous rulings that his original sentence was 'manifestly inadequate'.
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Reeves and Ms DeWaegeneire, from Wolumla near Bega, sat within metres of each other during an appeal hearing at the NSW Court of Appeal.
It was adjourned until June 2 when Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst and justices Peter Hall and Robert Hulme are expected to hand down a decision.
Victim and patient Carolyn DeWaegeneire had her genitals mutilated in August 2002
'My life has been totally, totally devastated - totally,' a tearful Ms DeWaegeneire said outside court after the hearing.
'I should be enjoying life as an older person - I'm not.'
She described Reeves's original sentence as 'the biggest joke of all time'.
'I've got my medical records. I know damn well what I had before I went in (to hospital). I know damn well what he did.'
During his trial, Reeves's lawyers argued the former doctor was saving Ms DeWaegeneire's life and rejected the crown's argument that he did not have consent to remove her genitals.
It's understood hundreds of other women have also complained about the former doctor.
The Department of Public Prosecutions revealed in November that a significant number of outstanding charges against Reeves, dating more than 20 years, had been dropped.
The allegations against Reeves were not pursued because of 'insufficient evidence to ensure a reasonable prospect of conviction', NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said.
Reeves' lawyer, Gabrielle Bashir, on Friday said her client was in poor health and suffering kidney disease and chronic depression, among other conditions, and argued he should not go back to jail.
Prosecutors tendered a doctors' report that stated his health conditions could be adequately treated in prison.
Reeves made no comment as he left court.
THE BUTCHER OF BEGA: HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Graeme Stephen Reeves first appointed as a visiting medical officer at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital in 1985, according to NSW Health Department documents
About 35 complaints were made over 20 different incidents about Mr Reeves’s behaviour and clinical practice, starting on June 1986
- He then moved onto The Hills Private Hospital, where the NSW Medical Board received notice of 'a marked deterioration' in the performance of the then-doctor in 1996, said Fairfax Media reports
- A doctor had written to the Medical Board on July 31, 1996 after a patient under Mr Reeves's care died of septicaemia after giving birth as he refused to give her antibiotics in May 1996
Mr Reeves was banned from obstetrics in July 1997
Psychiatric reports, dating from 1996 to 2004, diagnosed him with a personality disorder and also said he prominent narcissistic features and was at times severely depressed
Reeves continued to practice obstetrics in hospitals around NSW's south coast region hospitals from April 2002 to January 2003 and gynaecology until the termination of his contract in July 2003
There were complaints made at the end of 2002 about difficult working relationships between Reeves and staff at Pambula Hospital and by November 14, the hospital did not provide obstetric services
Then in 2003 similar complaints were received about Bega Hospital staff and Reeves, as well as obstetric services he provided to a patient at the hospital in January
He was found guilty by the District Court jury in 2011 for maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on patient Carolyn DeWaegeneire after he mutilated her clitoris and labia without her consent during an operation to take out a pre-cancerous lesion in 2002. He was released from jail last December after serving just 18-months of his three-and-a-half year sentence.
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