An investigative report by Gizmodo alleges that highly publicized sexologist Dr Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler is a “fake sex doctor,” a “serial fabulist,” and has lied about many of his certifications and awards. Well-known for his provocative studies involving sex, suicide, and bestiality, Sendler’s research is “practically tailor-made for outlets that cover taboo sex news,” wrote journalist Jennings Brown in his article.
In fact, IFLScience wrote of Sendler’s work in a 2017 article on a study he published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine suggesting that butt-fisting between human sexual partners represented “similar mechanisms of traumatic rectal injuries in patients who had anal sex with animals.” His research has been featured in dozens of other major publications, such as a story published last year in Vice inviting readers to “Meet the Man Studying Why Some People Are Attracted to Animals.” (A few others include MEL Magazine, Savage Lovecast, Huffington Post, Women’s Health, Elite Daily, and most recently, a now-deleted Forbes article.)
A quick search on Research Gate shows Sendler’s association with 45 papers, articles, or studies published in works such as the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, Forensic Science International, the European Congress of Psychiatry, and European Psychiatry. In an archived version of his website, Sendler describes himself as an “award-winning Polish-American” clinical sexologist and scholar of forensic and legal medicine with training in digital epidemiology. Listed among those awards is the non-existing “United States President Barack Obama’s Gold Service Award" for humanitarian work.
Brown writes of having spent weeks interviewing and corresponding with dozens of sources at universities and hospitals that Sendler claims to have affiliations with, including Harvard Medical School. Employees at Harvard Medical School confirmed that Sendler was never enrolled, nor had he received an MD or PhD from any department at Harvard University, Brown reports. The senior editor and reporter also claims Sendler's accomplishments at the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law as well as the American Psychiatric Association are likely lies.
Since Gizmodo published the expose, Sendler’s website has been taken offline and replaced with a statement contending the allegations against his work. He claims Brown is biased against his work because of his “European heritage” and his ability to live in the “US as well as Poland.” Sendler expressed the same concerns in an email sent to IFLScience, explaining that the training paths of foreign scientists are “a lot different than that of US students.”
“I do not agree with the quality or presentation of the reporting that you’re referring to as it does not accurately capture the content of my research or my background. There are numerous extrapolations to things I never did or said,” wrote Sendler. “Social media might be on fire with this reporting but ultimately the quality of my current and future research will speak for itself. The research has been presented to wide scientific community and it has always received positive reviews.”
In his email to IFLScience, Sendler did not provide us with any evidence to back up his claims or long list of accreditations and affiliations.
Please read the in-depth piece by Jennings Brown here to learn more.
