Doctor who sexually assaulted male patients jailed

A sexual health doctor who abused male patients in a "gross betrayal" of their trust has been jailed for six years.

Dr Timothy Girling, 55, from West Molesey in Surrey, sexually assaulted and performed sex acts on patients under the guise of examining them for complaints of rashes or other health issues, a court heard.

A jury at Bournemouth Crown Court convicted him of sexual assault, voyeurism and attempted voyeurism, and he also admitted making indecent images of children.

One victim told police: "I left there crying because it was very wrong and he just abused his power."

The victim added: "I was a very, very vulnerable person back then, I was in a really dark place."

The court heard Girling used his phone to secretly film appointments and set up a camera to film other men using a bathroom.

He had about 600 images of penises or "tight clothing" on his devices, the jury heard.

Dorset Police said Girling was a practising sexual health doctor in Bournemouth when it first received a report in August 2023.

Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, told the trial Girling was "using the guise of medical necessity to gain sexual gratification".

She said Girling had been diagnosed as having autism, which she said "leads to developing special areas of interest and he had one in penises".

Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said the defendant had continued offending despite having been suspended and reinstated following an earlier complaint.

He told the defendant: "Being a doctor is a significant thing in a person's life and no doubt there must be many you have helped, but on another darker side there are those you have abused."

The judge dismissed Girling's diagnosis of autism as the cause of his offending and told him: "Your interest was a sexual one and that sexual activity was of your own choosing.

"The reality is you used your position to satisfy your particular sexual interests.

"This was a gross betrayal of your patients' trust."

Additional reporting from PA Media.

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