Constitutional rights of Dr. Ian MacDonald of Sudbury were breached, lawyer says

The lawyer representinga Sudbury doctor says his constitutional rights were violated by Greater Sudbury police in their investigation of allegations connected to child pornography.

Nine charges of accessing and possessing child porn against Dr. Ian MacDonald were withdrawn earlier this month.

MacDonald was a kidney specialist at Health Sciences North when the charges were laid.

His lawyer, Michael Lacy, says a judge has ruled that various warrants obtained by police were invalid, and the Crown then made the decision to withdraw the charges following that decision.

Lacy says had the case gone to trial, he believes MacDonald would have been vindicated.

"The motion we filed alleged various constitutional violations committed by members of the Sudbury Regional Police Service butultimately, because of the withdrawal, other alleged violations were never fully litigated," he said in an email.

Sudbury police told CBC News in an email that investigations involving child-exploitation charges are very complex, and they are nowreviewing the ruling and "examining internal processes."

"Moving forward we will seek input from the Crown's office with respect to the application of law and procedural changes," a police spokesperson wrote.

"Cases are litigated with the expectation that there will be different legal opinions and rulings, however we are committed to taking these lessons learned forward, ensuring that we continue to serve victims and do our part to hold offenders accountable"

All of MacDonald'shospital privileges were suspended soon after he was charged.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario says ithas been monitoring the matter, adding that "while we cannot comment on details, we will take all appropriate steps to maintain public trust and safety."