A 29-year-old man arrested earlier this month by Kingston Police and charged with two counts of child luring was a resident physician working in Kingston General Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine, the Whig-Standard has learned.

Matias Wengiel, 29, was arrested on Dec. 4, two days after he was charged. He attended a bail hearing that day and was released on a recognizance with various conditions. He was due in court for another appearance last week.

After the charges were laid, Wengiel was suspended from practising at KGH, Hotel Dieu Hospital or Providence Care, effective Dec. 2.

He had been in a one-year residency slated to run from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.

Wengiel is a 2015 graduate from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and has a science degree from the University of Winnipeg earned in 2009.

He has not been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, but conditions were imposed on him by the college that include: not to be in the company of males or females under the age of 18 unless he’s with his surety or another medical professional, and not to possess a computer or any device that has access to the Internet or any other digital network unless for work or educational purposes.

A statement from the college reads: “It is alleged that Matias Ariel Wengiel, on two counts, between Nov. 16, 2015, and Nov. 26, 2015, at the city of Kingston did, by means of a telecommunication, communicate with a person who the accused believed to be under the age of 16 years, for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence under Section 271 of the Criminal Code with respect to that person, contrary to Section 172.1(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada.”

Responding to media enquiries about Wengiel’s work at the local hospitals, John Pereira, strategic communications adviser for KGH, released a statement on Monday on behalf of KGH, Hotel Dieu, Providence Care, Queen’s School of Medicine and the Department of Family Medicine.

“When we were made aware of the charges, this individual was immediately suspended from the Queen’s School of Medicine, as well as its hospital and Department of Family Medicine partners. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario was notified of this matter,” said the statement. “Our first priority is always the safety of our patients, families and staff, so we take allegations of any criminal behaviour from individuals associated with the Queen’s School of Medicine, as well as its hospital and Department of Family Medicine partners, very seriously. We are co-operating fully with the investigating officers and are conducting our own internal investigations into this matter.”

The statement also said the Queen’s Postgraduate Medical Education office has also convened a special review committee to conduct an investigation.

“As this matter is now before the courts, it would be inappropriate for us to add any further comments,” read the statement.

Between Nov. 13 and 20, Kingston Police’s Internet child exploitation unit and the OPP’s child sexual exploitation unit worked together to execute search warrants and arrest Wengiel and four other men on a variety of child pornography charges.

The four others charged were: Steve Dubenofsky, 56, and Earl Bray, 64, of Kingston; Andrew Whan, 25, of Verona; and Carmen Benn, 51, of Lyndhurst.

In Kingston, the Internet child exploitation unit posed as a 15-year-old girl online and two of the accused arranged a meeting. When they arrived at the meeting place, the men were arrested.

— With a file from Steph Crosier

ian.macalpine@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com @IanMacAlpine