An Alberta dentist facing criminal sexual assault charges has received a partial reprieve from the province’s top court, which found his professional college acted “unreasonably harsh” when it cancelled his practice permit, the Edmonton Journal reported.
Dr. Shouresh Charkhandeh, 43, was charged in 2024 with four counts of sexual assault and one count of threatening to cause bodily harm while committing a sexual assault, stemming from alleged incidents involving a clinic staff member between January 2012 and May 2013. The charges have not been proven in court.
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In a separate disciplinary process, the College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta found Charkhandeh guilty of unprofessional conduct in September 2022 based on five instances of non‑consensual sexual acts alleged to have occurred between November 2012 and February 2013. The college cancelled his practice permit, imposed a $50,000 fine and ordered him to pay 75 per cent of investigation and hearing costs, with an appeal panel later adding 75 per cent of appeal costs.
On July 16, 2025, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the findings of unprofessional conduct but reduced the penalty to a three‑year suspension, cancelled the $50,000 fine, and lowered Charkhandeh’s total costs to $60,000. A five‑justice panel said the college bodies put too much weight on denunciation and too little on factors such as the absence of an ongoing risk and prospects for rehabilitation.
The Edmonton Journal reported the five-justice panel as writing:
“In ordering expulsion, the hearing tribunal and the appeal panel overemphasized denunciation of the appellant’s conduct, and did not take sufficient account of his prior history of unblemished practice … [and] the absence of measurable risk to the public.”