More charges against accused back-alley
cosmetic surgeon
Published
on Friday December 14, 2012
Alexandra Bosanac
Staff Reporter
Additional
charges have been laid against a GTA woman alleged to have provided women with
back-alley cosmetic treatments.
Two
more women have come forward to claim that Newmarket resident Marilyn Ely Reid, 46,
injected them with a potentially dangerous substance.
Toronto police arrested Reid in November after a 28-year-old
female client fell gravely ill. The woman eventually required surgery to have
the injected substance removed from her buttocks.
Reid
operated a website advertising buttock, lip and muscle augmentations and Botox
injections using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a dermal filler recognized by
Health Canada.
PMMA
is an augmentation drug and is not regulated. Surgeons use the drug, which
comes in liquid or gel form, for bone reconstruction. It is not illegal to
possess PMMA, but it was allegedly administered in an illegal and dangerous
fashion in this instance, police said.
According
to the federal agency, dermal fillers can cause serious side effects, including
pain, bruising, swelling or edema, and infection.
Had
the woman not gone to a doctor she might have died, Det. Louise Farrugia said
following Reid’s arrest last month. “This is like going to a friend’s house to
have your appendix removed.”
Police
say Reid consulted clients over email and would perform the procedures in their
home or in hotel rooms.
Reid
allegedly requested cash payments for her services, which could run into the
thousands of dollars.
Now,
two other women, aged 23 and 27, are saying they were also treated by Reid.
As
a result, Reid has been charged additionally with two counts of criminal
negligence causing bodily harm, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts
of unlawfully causing bodily harm.
Under
terms of the bail, she must take down her website and agree not to perform the
procedure. Her next court appearance is Dec. 21.
Police
suspect there are more victims and urge anyone who may have received this type
of treatment from the accused to seek medical advice from a licensed
practitioner.
