Dr. Aubrey Levin, a leading psychiatrist and lecturer at the University Of Calgary who hid accusations of human rights abuses in apartheid-era South Africa, has been accused of sexually assaulting as many as30 male patients.
One 36-year-old patient reportedly filmed the psychiatrist making sexual advances towards him, prompting police to arrest Levin.
The patient alleges that Levin, 71, sexually assaulted him repeatedly over the course of several years. Since news of Levin's arrest was released, 29 more alleged victims have come forward to police.
Police have set up a hotline for members of the public to report suspected abuse by Levin.
The arrest has brought media attention to Levin's controversial history in South Africa, where he was given the nickname "Dr Shock."
In his position as chief psychiatrist for the apartheid-era military, Levin became notorious for administering electric shocks to soldiers suspected of being gay.
In the 1960s, Levin wrote to a parliamentary committee considering the abolition of laws criminalizing homosexuality, arguing he could 'cure' homosexual behavior with electric shocks.
Later he was allowed to put his theories to the test at the notorious Ward 22 in the Voortrekkerhoogte military hospital. Here he gave victims extreme shocks while they were forced to watch pornography. Similarly painful treatments were also devised for drug addicts and political activists.
After being informed he may be investigated for gross human rights abuses by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Levin fled the country as the apartheid regime fell in 1994.
Levin claims the electric shock therapy was standard practice at the time. In the past, he has used threats of lawsuits to prevent media outlets revealing his links to the practice.