How voice mail did in Dr. Anthony Theodore Deluco

Dr. Anthony Deluco's own words, recorded on phone messages to female patients, played a major role in convincing the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons that the Sault doctor was guilty of professional misconduct.

As SooToday.com reported earlier today, a report released this afternoon by the College's Disciplinary Committee rejected misconduct complaints from two of Deluco's patients, but upheld complaints from two other women who maintained that he'd sexually abused them.

Phone messages left by Deluco were specifically cited by the committee as helping it reject the physician's explanation for why he remained in what he called a woman's "bed-sitting room" (most SooToday.com readers would call it her bedroom) while she engaged in sex acts with one of his female patients.

"The Committee was convinced by the content and the tonality of the recorded messages that Dr. Deluco was attempting to continue behaviour that had occurred before, and that he did indeed wish to bring patient B to his office for sex and that, at another time, he called to get both women to the hotel that he was calling from," said today's written decision.

The patient testified to the committee that Deluco had told her to call him if she "was ever horny" and she had had sex with the doctor at both her home and his office.

During one liason at her residence that included 45 to 60 minutes of sexual intercourse, she said Deluco presented her with Victoria's Secret lingerie (two underwire bras and two panties) as well as some chocolates.

Dr. Deluco denied both of these sexual encounters and argued that he couldn't have given the mother of four anything from Victoria's Secret because there's no Victoria's Secret store in Canada.

Message transcripts Message #1 (undated): "[Patient B] it's too bad you didn't answer the phone cause I'd be there right now silly girl I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye"

Message #2: "Ah like [patient B] call me right now. I’m sitting here waiting for the two of you. See you soon. Bye."

Message #3: "Oh, Hi [patient B] just got in. You want company or not give me a call within the next ten minutes maybe fifteen cause I'm just leaving the airport. I'll be passing by your house at that time. If you would like to see me like I would like to see you it would be nice to hear from you. Maybe I'll talk to you later and then again maybe I won't. Bye bye."

Message #4: "Well good morning sleeping beauty. Thought I'd give you a call and try to get in touch with you. Missed you last night seem to been missing you all the time. Anyway, I just want you to know I was thinking about you and hope you have a good day. I'm going to [town]today. Ah maybe you can give me a call later this evening on my cell as it is going to be free or maybe you can call me tomorrow morning at the office who knows. What ever suits you. Love to talk to you. Have a good day. Bye."

Message #5: "[patient B] it's Tony just back from a [town]. If you would like give me a call sometime around ah 7:30 and I'll come and pick you up. I'll take you for coffee and then I'd just love to take you over to the office for some private time with you and do whatever comes to mind and make you feel wonderful and talk to you and find out what the hell has been going on. At any rate, I hope you find that a somewhat intriguing suggestion. If you don't, give me a call tomorrow anyway. Talk to you then. Bye."

Message #6: "Ah [patient B], it's Tony I just back from being away for a week ah give me a call today, this morning, as soon as possible on my cell phone I need to talk with you. I've got to make reservations for Toronto and I need to know whether you are coming, [Ms. C] is coming, the both of you are coming or none at all. So please give me a call asap. Thanks bye."

Findings of the disciplinary committee

In today's decision, the disciplinary committee referred to Deluco's testimony as "incredible" and "unbelievable."

"To wish to help a patient get to a consultation is admirable, but the normal course of events for any physician would be that this would be handled by a secretary, or at the least with one phone call from the office," the disciplnary committee said. "To be importuning her, to call her intimate names, to invite her to his office 'for some private time' and 'to do whatever comes to mind and to make you feel wonderful,' to ask if either or both women were coming as he had to make reservations, and then to testify as he did as to the rationale and meaning of the calls, added to Dr. Deluco's lack of credibility." "We also concluded that he was attempting to set up a trip to Toronto, with patient B and/or Ms. C, for non-medical purposes. We do not accept that he was attempting to be helpful in giving her or both of them a lift to Sudbury for her neurological consultation. There is no mention of Sudbury noted in any of the calls."

The disciplinary committee said today that it didn't believe Deluco's testimony.

"His description of the bedroom as a bed-sitting room appeared to be intended to influence the Committee to conclude this was an innocuous and commonplace event."

A penalty hearing for Dr. Deluco has been set for September 7.

Click here to read every word of today's decision

SooToday.com cautions that this lengthy document contains explicit sexual material that may offend some readers.