GP jailed over sex attacks on patients
A GP convicted of 90 sex offences against 24 female patients was branded a “master of deception” as he was handed three life sentences.
Manish Shah, who will serve at least 15 years behind bars, cited the cases of Angelina Jolie and Jade Goody to persuade patients aged between 15 and 39 to undergo unnecessary intimate examinations for his own gratification, the Old Bailey heard.
Shah, 50, of Romford, east London, who claimed he had been practising “defensive medicine”, was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against six victims at Mawney Medical Centre between 2009 and 2013 last autumn.
At an earlier trial in 2018, he was convicted of offences relating to 18 other women, taking the total number of offences to 90 relating to 24 women.
Fifteen of the victims sat in court at the Old Bailey yesterday as Shah was sentenced by Judge Anne Molyneux QC to three life sentences with a minimum term of 15 years, plus further jail terms to run concurrently.
The judge said Shah had deployed a “mixture of flattery and fear” and used celebrity cases to carry out the sex assaults.
The judge said: “You were a master of deception and you abused your position of power. This was a horrible abuse of trust and caused incalculable harm.
“Your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control, and on occasions humiliate, women.”
Earlier, the youngest victim, who was 15 at the time, described being left “anxious, fearful and shaking” at the prospect of visiting the doctor after being abused by Shah.
In mitigation, Zoe Johnson QC said: “All of these women feel grossly abused, humiliated, and that the trust that they placed in Manish Shah has been so dreadfully exploited. He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.”
The court heard that Shah picked on patients’ vulnerability, because of their age or family history of cancer.
He 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.
He would not always wear gloves and left one patient entirely naked on an examination table, jurors heard.
He flouted NHS guidelines on giving healthy women aged under 25 smear tests, and routine breast examinations on women under 50, which were said to cause more harm than good.
Speaking outside court, Alison Millar, who represents one of the victims, said the sentence reflected “the enormity and gravity of his crimes”. She said: “These cases do have a knock-on effect on the wider confidence in healthcare professionals.
“There are questions to be asked (about) how Shah was able to manipulate patients, parents, other members of his practice, other people, for quite so long.”