Hospital Worker On Sex Assault Charges

Totnes hospital worker Stephen Aitkenhead sexually assaulted a disabled woman as she sat at home in her wheelchair, a crown court heard. When his 48-year-old victim threw him out it was claimed he went next door and sexually assaulted an older woman who, the court heard, was also disabled.

The 48-year-old claimed Aitkenhead had come into her home to make her a cup of coffee when he started crying, put his head in her lap and indecently touched her.

She also claimed during an 85-minute video interview with police that Aitkenhead had previously bombarded her with telephone calls and text messages – one of which had asked her if she wanted to have sex.

But during cross examination the woman, who cannot be named because the sexual nature of the charge means that her identity is protected by law, admitted: I was OK about it to start with but realised he wanted to take it further. I didn’t want it to go further.”

Aitkenhead, 51, of Weston Road, Totnes appeared in Plymouth Crown Court where he denied two charges of sexually touching the two women between December 31, 2006 and February 1, 2007.

Opening the case for the prosecution Rosie Collins QC, said that Aitkenhead had been working in a domestic and porter capacity at Totnes Community Hospital.

She said that the woman, who was wheelchair-bound, had been in hospital after suffering a fall.

The woman, through the video interview, said she had received so many calls and texts from Aitkenhead that she had turned the phone off.

She said that one of the calls had been ‘asking whether I wanted sex . I didn’t want to listen to things like that’.

She said she had only been back at her own home for a few days in January last year when Aitkenhead showed up.

He was invited in after offering to make a cup of coffee and, she claimed, during his stay he broke down crying and sexually touched her while she was in her bedroom.

She said she told him to leave but admitted that she had asked him to take some TV and video remote controls to a neighbour on his way out.

Later that day the neighbour came to see her and claimed that Aitkenhead had sexually touched her as well.

While being cross-examined by Robert Linford QC the younger woman said she had sworn at Aitkenhead as she told him to go away .

The case continues.