A rural Victorian GP accused of filming and sexually assaulting female patients while examining them has died before court proceedings into his conduct could be completed. Wangaratta doctor Stewart Geoffrey Moroney, 68, faced a string of charges including sexual assault and capturing intimate images. Dr Moroney worked in Victoria’s north-east for 40 years, most recently at the Ely Street Clinic in Wangaratta. Last year, police said19 victims aged between 17 and 60 had been identified in the investigation. Emergency services were called after Dr Moroney’s body was found in a reserve in Wangaratta about 5.30pm on Tuesday. Dr Moroney’s death is not being treated as suspicious and a report is being prepared for the coroner. The case came to the attention of police after a female patient came forward. She told police she had gone to the clinic for a female health test in October 2017 and noticed her examination was conducted without the use of surgical gloves. She also alleged there was camera equipment in the room. She reported her concerns to police the next day. Police searched the doctor’s clinic and home in November 2017 where a number of cameras and computer equipment were seized. The doctor was charged shortly after and suspended from practising. He appeared in the Wangaratta Courthouse last year and said he planned to contest the charges.
