The Cimický Case: How the Psychiatrist Evaded Exposure Four Times

On Friday, September 18, Prague's Municipal Court handed down a final verdict to well-known psychiatrist Jan Cimický — five years in prison for 39 offences committed over the course of forty years. Court documents shed light on why the doctor's conduct went unpunished for so long: on at least four occasions the scandal nearly came to light, yet each time it was hushed up.

According to prosecutors, each of the described assaults began the same way: Cimický, "aware of his superiority and authority stemming from his position as a publicly known physician," exploited his influence. Testifying during questioning, the affected women said those around them had talked them out of filing complaints against the celebrated doctor. "She confided in fellow patients, who talked her out of telling anyone," the case files note regarding one of the episodes. The defendant himself, prosecutors say, made a point of flaunting his connections with media figures and other influential people, which likewise discouraged victims from speaking out.

Four missed opportunities for exposure

The first near-exposure came when Cimický was forced to step down as head of a ward at Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital. The hospital's then-director, Zdeněk Bašný, summoned the doctor to answer complaints from patients. Cimický admitted only to "touching patients in order to calm them," but Bašný nonetheless deemed it necessary for him to resign. "There was a perception within professional medical circles that the defendant was sexually undisciplined, but there was no unequivocal proof," Bašný explained, describing his decision to settle the matter quietly. According to him, a wave of intervention from influential figures followed — chiefly from Czech Television and Czech Radio — and the whole affair was kept under wraps.

As it later emerged, something similar had already happened once before: according to Bašný, the management of the Prague nursing school where Cimický taught had also planned to dismiss him over inappropriate sexual contact with students. But he reportedly learned of this in advance and quietly ended his cooperation with the school himself, before the scandal could break.

A shelved report and silence after a published article

The third missed turning point was to have been a report by TV Nova. An undercover reporter posed as a patient and was sent to see Cimický: at their very first meeting he questioned her about her sex life and "examined" her breasts with a stethoscope. Subsequent visits, however, could not be recorded — the hidden camera equipment failed, and the station's management decided to halt filming. An employee involved in preparing the report said "some decision was made from above," which led to the story being scrapped. Journalists suspected someone at the station had tipped Cimický off — during the undercover reporter's final visit, his behaviour changed abruptly: he became distant and said further visits were pointless.

A fourth chance for exposure came two years later. In 2001, the magazine Týden published an article titled "Raped by a Doctor," in which journalist Kristina Vanatovičová laid out the real reasons behind Cimický's departure from Bohnice. Yet no major scandal followed — most media outlets stayed silent, and the authorities left the allegations without consequence.

After the article's publication, Cimický continued his "lack of restraint," as the case timeline shows: according to the court, after 2001 he harmed at least thirteen more women. Despite the now-final verdict, the doctor has never admitted guilt.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz