A former St George Hospital oncologist will be released from jail in May after having his sentence reduced.
But he will still face a hearing in July on two extra counts of indecent assault.
John Kearsley was sentenced to a minimum of 27 months in the NSW District Court in August 2016 after pleading guilty to spiking a woman’s drink before indecently assaulting her.
Kearsley, then 63, was the director of radiation oncology at St George Hospital when he put benzodiazepine into the wine glass of the female colleague during dinner at his house in Glebe, in Sydney's inner west, in November 2013.
The woman, a registrar at the hospital who cannot be named for legal reasons, woke to find Kearsley sucking her nipple.
An appeal was launched against the sentence and today the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal allowed his challenge, slashing his term to 18 months.
His non-parole period was also reduced to nine months.
He is due to be released from prison on May 26.
In reducing his sentence the appeal judges took into account his outstanding medical career over several decades before his psychological decline in the months leading up to the crime.
Justice Ian Harrison said any jail sentence should be wholly suspended. He said the original sentence was invalid because the trial judge did not specifically determine the "objective seriousness" of the offence of administering an intoxicating substance with intent.
However, Justices Robert Macfarlan and Monika Schmidt agreed some jail time was appropriate.
Justice Macfarlan said Kearsley "had rendered extraordinary service to the medical profession, and, through it, to the community at large".
He said his moral culpability was reduced to a limited extent due to a major depressive disorder he was suffering at the time and he took into account Kearsley's genuine remorse and attempts to rehabilitate himself.
He said it was relevant that Kearsley "has lost his profession, his position of good standing in the community, and has been the subject of adverse media publicity".
The court heard Kearsley, now 65, had experienced "exceptional difficulties" in jail, in part due to being "older person of a professional background" and his worsening mental condition.
In the period leading up to the crime, he was under "extreme stress" caused by under-resourcing at the St George Cancer Care Centre. His relationship with his wife was deteriorating and he was drinking to excess.
Kearsley was the victim's supervisor for three months in 2012 and they maintained a working relationship when she moved hospitals.
She had accepted an invitation to his home hoping to talk about a mentoring program and her future as a doctor.
Justice Harrison accepted that Kearsley didn't lure the victim to his home in order to assault her, but that he formed the intention after she arrived.
Kearsley's lawyers had asked for a suspended sentence or intensive correction order, whereby the sentence is served at home under strict conditions.
Kearsley has not worked at St George Hospital since he was charged with the offences in February 2014 and his employment was terminated after he entered guilty pleas in October 2015.
He will face a hearing for the two extra indecent assault charges at Sutherland Local Court on July 27.
