What to know about the sexual assault trial for Jeffrey Sloka
WARNING: This post includes details of alleged sexual assault.
Former neurologist Jeffrey Sloka of Kitchener first went on trial in 2021 for the alleged sexual assaults of dozens of patients.
Today, Superior Court Justice Craig Parry will decide Sloka’s fate, handing down a decision starting around 10 a.m. ET in the southern Ontario city.
Sloka now faces 48 counts of sexual assault dating back to 2010 (down from 76 in June 2021). The allegations first surfaced in 2017.Â
He hasn’t practised as a neurologist in years. In April 2019, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario stripped him of his licence after a disciplinary panel determined he’d sexually assaulted at least four patients between 2010 and 2017.Â
The college’s investigation and disciplinary process is separate from his criminal case, and concluded before Sloka was arrested in October 2019. Back then, he faced 34 counts following an investigation by Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) that began in 2018.Â
Sloka was practising in Kitchener at Grand River Hospital, now known as the Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) Midtown, when the allegations surfaced.
The patients ranged in age from 17 to 51 at the time of the alleged incidents. They had sought treatment from Sloka for a variety of conditions, from migraines to head injuries.
Sloka has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
His judge-alone trial started in September 2021. At that time, he faced 63 sexual assault counts after some charges were dropped at the request of the Crown.
The trial was expected to last 98 days, but more time was needed to allow people to testify. There was also one instance where the defence missed a deadline to provide submissions, which set proceedings back several months.
Other scheduling issues prolonged the trial by over four years to November 2025, when the Crown and the defence gave closing arguments.
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