Doctor who launched sickening spree of sex assaults on female patients jailed for 22 years

Dr Stephen Cox repeatedly indecently assaulted seven of his female patients during clinic at the surgery in Berkshire on the pretext of carrying out routine medical examinations

A doctor who carried out a string of indecent assaults against seven female patients has been jailed.

Dr Stephen Cox, 65, has been jailed 22 years after a jury at Reading Crown Court found him guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault and acquitted of a further four, after a four-week retrial at the same court.

The disgraced doctor repeatedly indecently assaulted seven of his female patients on the pretext of carrying out routine medical examinations, between 1988 and 1997.

During the trial, the jury heard that he touched parts of patients' bodies during examinations at his surgery in Bracknell, Berkshire, despite there being no medical reason to do so.

Sentencing the GP today, Judge Sarah Campbell said: "You are, in a sense, the worst kind of sexual predator, hiding in plain sight under the guise of a trusted family GP. Your offences demonstrate a gross breach of trust on your part. Doctors are among the most highly respected and trusted professions in our society but your actions go against everything the medical professions stand for."

As well as getting patients to undress unnecessarily, he touched their breasts, pressed his body against them, and carried out internal examinations when they were not needed or without using gloves, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The offences took place before the use of computerised healthcare records, which meant the police investigation revolved around handwritten GP notes. The indecent assaults were not reported at the time, and victims came forward once a police investigation opened into Cox, the CPS said.

Cox, from Welshpool, Shropshire, claimed he did not remember any of the patients and denied the allegations, saying it was either a misunderstanding, an accident, or that his victims were not telling the truth.

Lawyer Chris White, for the CPS, said: "The medical expert who we put forward to give evidence during the trial confirmed that there was no medical justification for Stephen Cox's actions.

"His behaviour was clearly sexually motivated, and he used his position to take advantage of his patients when they should have been able to trust him.

"With no witnesses to the assaults, it was the strength of all the victims' accounts, which showed a similar pattern in Cox's behaviour, that helped secure his conviction. We would like to thank them for coming forward and we hope today's sentence gives them some sense of closure."