STOTFOLD GP ROBERT LEWIS JAILED FOR GROPING PATIENTS
A general practitioner who exploited breast and hernia check-ups to molest young women and recruit them into the ambulance service has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.Dr.
Robert Lewis, aged 51, was found guilty in November 2015 of four counts of indecent assault involving three women between 1999 and 2003.
Following his initial trial, he was removed from the medical register.
The former doctor, residing on Northbridge Street in Shefford, was acquitted on eight other charges on the previous Friday.
At Luton Crown Court, it was revealed that Lewis assaulted the three women at Larksfield Surgery in Stotfold, near Hitchin.
He used his role as a genuine examiner to justify his inappropriate behavior when women sought to join the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire ambulance services.
The victims recounted how he used both hands to squeeze, fondle, or grope their breasts; one woman also claimed he inserted his hand inside her underwear during a hernia check.
Lewis maintained that all examinations were performed in a "decent and honest manner." His defense lawyer stated that Lewis had "treated thousands, if not tens of thousands, of patients" and was "not a wicked man." Judge Kay emphasized the damage such convictions cause to public confidence in the profession, noting that the victims were reluctant to come forward out of fear that it might harm their chances of joining the ambulance service.
Ultimately, Lewis was cleared of 39 out of the 43 charges he faced.
He is also mandated to register as a sex offender for a decade.
