Disgraced GP facing jail for sexually assaulting 23 women and girls in east London
A GP who cited the cases of Angelina Jolie and Jade Goody to instill fear in his patients is facing jail for molesting 23 female patients.
Dr Manish Shah (pictured) preyed on cancer concerns to persuade patients as young as 11 to undergo unnecessary intimate examinations for his own sexual gratification, the Old Bailey heard.
Over five years, between May 2009 and June 2013, he assaulted six patients of the Mawney Medical Centre, the court was told.
Shah, 50, of Romford, east London, denied wrongdoing, claiming he had been practising “defensive medicine”.
But following an Old Bailey trial, he was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against the six victims.
The jury was told Shah has already been convicted of similar allegations relating to 17 other women, bringing the total number to 23.
Shah looking down at his lap in the dock as the jury delivered majority verdicts after 26 hours of deliberations.
Judge Anne Molyneux adjourned sentencing for all the offences until February 7.
Prosecutor Kate Bex QC told jurors that Shah played on the women’s fear of cancer to consent to examinations, but without being properly informed.
Some of the victims were particularly vulnerable because of their young age or because of their family history of the disease.
Ms Bex said: “Fear is an incredible motivator and few health concerns are scarier than cancer. Dr Shah exploited that and used it for his own personal gratification.”
Shah brought up the news story about Hollywood star Jolie having a preventative mastectomy as he asked a woman if she would like him to examine her breasts.
He also mentioned Goody to another woman, saying an examination was in her best interests, it was claimed.
Ms Bex told jurors that one theme of the case was the defendant’s “sexualised” behaviour.
He would give patients hugs and kisses, singling some out as “special” and his “star”, saying he had a soft spot for them.
He would not always wear gloves and left one patient entirely naked on an examination table, jurors heard.
Shah attempted to justify an examination in medical notes by suggesting it was “requested”, the court heard.
He flouted NHS guidelines on giving healthy women under 25 smear tests and routine breast examinations on women under 50, which were said to cause more harm than good, Ms Bex told jurors.
He also breached guidelines on the use of chaperones during intimate examinations.
Shah denied wrongdoing and his barrister Zoe Johnson QC told jurors he was a “cautious, insecure, perhaps at times incompetent GP”.
The fact of Shah’s previous conviction did not necessarily make for a case of “once a sex offender always a sex offender”, Ms Johnson argued.
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