London: A doctor who claimed to have been trained in specialist massage in India for two years has been handed an 18-month prison sentence by a UK court after being found guilty of the sexual assault of a female patient.
Simon Abraham, 34, worked at Eastbourne District General Hospital in south-east England when he contacted the woman in October 2020 after she had been treated there for severe headaches.
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He was convicted of sexual assault at Chichester Crown Court after a four-day trial in May and sentenced last week to 18 months in prison - nine of which will be custodial behind bars and the remaining under licence parole conditions.
"He claimed that he had had a call from a colleague who was concerned about her condition and that he had been trained in specialist massage in India for two years," the Sussex Police said in a statement.
"The woman agreed to his visit, but during the massage he sexually assaulted her. He left when a visitor came to the house, but continued to phone her. She contacted the hospital who advised her that they would investigate, but she should also contact police," the statement noted.
Abraham will also be placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and is subject to a five-year restraining order to protect the patient from contact by him.
"Abraham took advantage of the victim's pain, fraudulently accessing her patient details even though he wasn't officially treating her, and then visiting her when he finished work, claiming that he could massage her headache away," said Sussex Police Detective Constable Jo Gledhill.
"When he was arrested, he denied that it happened at all, but then asked for a further interview where he admitted going to her house, but did not sexually touch her. We will always take reports of this nature very seriously and specially trained officers will deal with your call. If you have been sexually assaulted, please contact us and we will investigate," she said.
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