Indian-origin doc in UK found guilty of 25 sexual assaults

Photo courtesy of Romford Recorder/PA 

London, Dec 15 (IANS) A former Indian-origin doctor, who is already facing three life sentences for 90 sexual offences, has been found guilty of assaulting four more women by carrying out unnecessary invasive examinations.

Manish Shah, 53, has been found guilty of 25 sexual assaults against four women at his GP clinic in Romford, east London, the BBC reported.

Shah "took advantage of his position to persuade women to have invasive vaginal examinations, breast examinations, intimate examinations, when there was no medical need for them to be conducted", Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the Old Bailey -- the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

After the latest verdict, Shah is now convicted of 115 offences of sexual assault and assault by penetration against 28 women, aged between 15 and 34.

The General Practitioner used high-profile cases of celebrities like Angeline Jolie to persuade female patients to have intrusive examinations.

The trial heard that Shah had been a "well regarded" GP, whose appointments were often fully booked, but in reality he "manipulated and abused" women.

During his appointments, he presented himself as a caring and considerate doctor, prepared to go "above and beyond" for his patients by carrying out extra examinations, the BBC reported.

Some of his victims told the court that Shah would call them "star", "special girl", and his "favourite".

The 50-year-old doctor denied any wrongdoing and had told the Old Bailey in a 2020 trial that the assaults were "defensive medicine". Shah was suspended from medical practice in 2013 after police investigations began. He will be sentenced on January 9.