A GP found guilty of sexually assaulting two women patients now faces the “likely” possibility of being struck off.
Dr Rajinder Aggarwal, 54, was ordered to do unpaid work after smacking the bottoms of two women during consultations.
At Basildon Crown Court, Dr Aggarwal was sentenced to a nine-month community order – including the 80 hours of unpaid work – and a requirement to be supervised by the probation service.
But judge Christopher Mitchell told the Ilford GP that the most “severe” punishment was the prospect of being struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC).
The married father-of-two was told: “The overwhelming likelihood is that, because of this conviction, you are going to be struck off. That, to my mind, is a very severe punishment for a man in your position.”
The court heard that the women, aged between 25 and 55, were assaulted after being seen by Dr Aggarwal at a hospital in east London and at a doctors’ surgery in Essex in 2007.
Judge Mitchell told Dr Aggarwal: “What you did, which was decidedly odd and immediately frightening for each of these women, was that you suddenly smacked their behinds.”
Dr Aggarwal was found guilty of the two assaults following a trial in March but was cleared of two further offences.
Christina Lambert, QC, said that Dr Aggarwal will now appear before a GMC Fitness to Practise Panel where he is likely to be “erased from the register”.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
