Doctor gave patient cancer scare before assaulting her at Dudley practice, court hears
A GP frightened a woman into thinking she might have cancer before sexually assaulting her in his surgery, a court heard.
Dr Jaswant Rathore allegedly told the patient she needed an immediate rectal examination when she complained to him about 'severe' diarrhoea.
Taking the stand, the woman said she became 'panicked' when Rathore said there was a chance she had cancer after she had described her symptoms.
She was immediately told to lie down and was not offered a chaperone during the emergency appointment at the Dudley surgery, the jury was told.
The witness, who gave evidence behind screens, said Rathore then assaulted her during the '40-second' examination.
Recalling the incident at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the woman said: "I was obviously really anxious to get up and get dressed."
Rathore, of Ploughmans Walk, Wall Heath, denies 18 counts of sexual assault between November 28, 2008, and March 26, 2015.
Prosecutors allege he attacked eight female patients, who cannot be named for legal reasons, while he was at the helm of the medical practice.
The 60-year-old told police touching of the women was 'medically appropriate' and he had acted professionally during appointments with patients.
During cross-examination, defence barrister Mr Alan Jenkins put it to the woman that she had visited Rathore about the diarrhoea weeks after seeing other GPs about the problem.
The woman said: "It was not an ongoing problem, it was a one-off."
She went on to deny Rathore offered her a chaperone during the rectal examination and claimed he did not tell her he needed to 'look for something serious' rather than cancer.
Jurors heard how the woman, who was the second alleged victim to give evidence, 'trusted' Rathore as he had been her GP since birth.
She also arranged to have the medic perform 'manual manipulation therapy' on her to alleviate back pain she suffered following a car accident.
The woman, who is in her 20s, told the court she was not fully clothed during the sessions and felt 'uncomfortable' during three of the four appointments.
During the trial, prosecutor Ms Heidi Kubik claimed Rathore assaulted the women to fuel his 'illicit sexual desire'.
He told patients he needed to carry out the treatment to alleviate their body pain but instead sexually assaulted the unsuspecting women, she alleged.
The prosecutor said patients trusted the family doctor, who had been at the surgery since 1986, when he advised them his medical examinations were necessary.
He had not had the 'appropriate training to carry out specialist techniques', jurors were told.
The trial continues.
