STEPHEN COX SHROPSHIRE GP SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS FOR ABUSE IN SHROPSHIRE AND BERKSHIRE
A medical professional from Shropshire has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term of 22 years after being found guilty of committing multiple acts of indecent assault against seven women during routine medical examinations.The individual in question, Stephen Cox, aged 65, faced a rigorous four-week retrial at Reading Crown Court, where he was convicted on 12 counts of indecent assault.
Despite the conviction, he was acquitted of four additional charges.
Throughout the trial, it was established that Cox, who worked at a surgery in Bracknell, Berkshire, during the 1980s and 1990s, repeatedly engaged in inappropriate and unlawful conduct towards his female patients over a span of several years.
The Thames Valley Police detailed that Cox exploited his position as a healthcare provider to carry out these assaults under the guise of routine medical procedures.
During the proceedings, the jury was presented with evidence that Cox would often require patients to undress unnecessarily, touch their breasts without medical justification, press his body against theirs, and perform internal examinations that were either unwarranted or conducted without proper protective measures such as gloves.
These actions, which were not medically necessary, constituted the core of the criminal charges.
Stephen Cox, who resides at Stockton Mill, Welshpool, in Shropshire, maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
He claimed that the women’s allegations were mistaken and insisted that the examinations he performed were medically justified.
He also stated that he did not remember any of the patients and dismissed their claims as untruthful.
Following the verdict, Detective Constable Sara Di Giorgio issued a statement condemning Cox’s actions, describing him as a “prolific and predatory sex offender hiding beneath the mask of being a trusted doctor.” She emphasized that Cox had “completely betrayed” the trust placed in him by his patients.
Di Giorgio further explained that the assaults had a lasting impact on the victims, many of whom have had to live with the trauma for decades.
She highlighted that Cox had shown no remorse for his actions and continued to deny any wrongdoing, despite multiple women, who did not know each other, coming forward with similar accounts of abuse.
The investigation into Cox’s conduct was complicated by the fact that the offences occurred before the advent of computerised healthcare records, relying instead on handwritten GP notes.
The victims’ courage in coming forward was instrumental in securing the conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) noted.
Chris White, representing the CPS, described Cox’s behaviour as “clearly sexually motivated” and pointed out that he exploited his professional position to take advantage of vulnerable patients.
He added that the strength of the victims’ consistent accounts, despite the absence of witnesses, was crucial in establishing the pattern of misconduct.
White expressed gratitude to the victims for their bravery and hoped that the sentence would provide some measure of closure for them.
Overall, the case underscores the importance of safeguarding patients and holding medical professionals accountable for misconduct, regardless of the passage of time or the lack of contemporary records.
