I made error of judgment, says sex-case doctor
... but he denies assault after party
A DOCTOR accused of sexually assaulting a drunken partygoer admitted he had shown ‘bad judgment’ by getting into her bed as she slept.
But Oxford University educated Robert Lawton, 36, denied having any sexual contact with her while they lay in bed beside another woman.
Lawton had first met the alleged victim – known as Miss A – at a birthday party in the flat in Dundee earlier in the evening, having been invited there by a woman he met in a pub.
The group then went to a club before returning to the flat in the early hours of March 13, 2011.
Miss A fell asleep in a double bed but claimed she woke to find Lawton having sex with her.
Lawton, who had recently moved to Dundee from England to take up a post in trauma and orthopaedics at Ninewells Hospital, was charged with rape almost two years after the alleged incident – but the case never went to court.
At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester yesterday, Lawton said: ‘Looking back, I acknowledge it was poor judgment to even enter the room. I did not think it through.
‘I could see there was a space in between them and I felt sick so all I wanted to do was to lie down and close my eyes. I believe I took my shoes off just before climbing onto the bed and, when I did, I do not remember even touching them. Going into that room was below the standard I’d expect of myself but it is certainly not what is alleged.’
Asked if he remembered being overly flirtatious with Miss A’s friend, Lawton said: ‘No, I do not remember it like that. At that point I’d only had two or three drinks and was not drunk or behaving inappropriately at all.
‘I was not pursuing her at all. I had no impression that there was any kind of negativity about my behaviour.’
He admitted he became drunk and was feeling ‘quite sick’ once he had returned to the flat, adding: ‘I remember feeling a bit dizzy and needed to lie down.
‘After being sick I felt a bit unwell and didn’t feel ready to walk home. I can’t remember much about what I was thinking at that time.’
When asked if he knew that two women were asleep in the bed, he said: ‘They were both asleep when I entered the room. I absolutely did not have any sexual contact with her. I don’t know how long after it was, but I was pushed out of the bed. The lady was clearly upset. I don’t know why she was so upset.
‘I thought I’d merely frightened her with my presence in the room. I did not expect or imagine it would ever be as serious as it is now being made out to be.’
Lawton denies engaging in sexual conduct with Miss A without her consent.
The hearing continues.