Retired Tasmanian doctor denies historical indecent-assault allegations

Former Tasmanian general practitioner Michael Anthony Welch has pleaded not guilty to three indecent-assault charges involving two patients. The hearing concluded in Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday. Magistrate Jackie Hartnett is expected to deliver her findings in December.

Welch, 65, practised as a GP in Tasmania from 1984 until retiring in 2019 and was extradited from New South Wales last year to face the charges. The first two allegations concern a patient who said he was assaulted during a consultation in late 2004 or early 2005, when he was 18 or 19. The complainant said he had attended Welch, whom he understood to be an LGBTQI-friendly doctor, for a sexual health check-up.

He alleged that Welch touched his genitals over his underwear during one examination and later stroked his genitals while he was lying on an examination bed. The complainant told the court that he was shocked and frightened and did not respond at the time. He said he waited until 2023 to report the allegations because he was genuinely afraid.

Welch denied the allegations and said the examination had been professional. He denied making inappropriate comments and said he had no sexual interest in the complainant. The third charge concerns a separate patient and an ear-piercing procedure.

Welch denied an allegation that he touched the patient’s penis and testicles after part of the piercing fell into his lap. He said he had provided professional piercing services since the early 2000s. In closing submissions, Welch’s lawyer, David Edwardson KC, argued that the first complainant’s evidence contained reasonable doubt and pointed to differences between statements given by the complainant and his cousin.

The prosecution maintained the allegations, while the court reserved its findings until December.