Jaswant Rathore

Dr Jaswant Rathore, a 60-year-old general practitioner from the West Midlands, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a series of sexual assaults on his female patients, marking a profound betrayal of the trust placed in him as a medical professional.

The offences occurred at Castle Meadows Surgery in Dudley between 2008 and 2015. Rathore was found guilty of eight charges of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration following a seven-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He was acquitted of eight further allegations involving four other patients. The court heard how Rathore exploited his position to conduct unnecessary massages and invasive procedures without proper consent, preying on vulnerable women seeking medical help.

One victim recounted her distressing experience to the court: she had visited Rathore complaining of hip pain, only for him to remove her clothes without consent and touch her inappropriately, leaving her feeling uncomfortable and violated. Prosecutor Ian Pinkney from the Crown Prosecution Service praised the courage of the women who came forward, stating that Rathore 'preyed on women who contacted him for medical assistance'.

• The assaults involved unnecessary physical examinations disguised as legitimate medical procedures.
• Rathore's actions were described as demonstrating 'a breathtaking degree of arrogance', with hopes that his professional standing would shield him from consequences.
• As a married father-of-five, Rathore's conviction led Judge Michael Challinor to remark that his professional and personal life had become a 'complete shipwreck'.

Jailing Rathore, Judge Challinor condemned the offences as a 'shocking breach of trust', emphasising how Rathore used his community standing 'as a cloak behind which you could carry out sexual assaults on your patients for your personal gratification'. In addition to the 12-year custodial sentence, Rathore was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and subjected to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order. The case was reported by the BBC on 17 January 2018, highlighting the severity of the breach in the medical field.