'Predatory' family doctor jailed after indecently assaulting patients

 A 'predatory' family doctor, 65, has been jailed for 22 years after he indecently assaulted seven of his females.

'Trusted GP' Stephen Cox abused his position of power and took advantage of his patients when they were at their most vulnerable, touching them inappropriately and pressing himself against them during routine examinations. 

Hiding behind the mask of his job title the disgraced doctor, from Stockton Mill, Welshpool in Shropshire, committed the assaults at a surgery in Bracknell, Berkshire, during the 1980s and 1990s.

Cox was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault after a four-week retrial at Reading Crown Court. He was acquitted of a further four charges.

He denied all 16 charges of indecent assault which Thames Valley Police said had taken place over a number of years.

It added that Cox repeatedly indecently assaulted seven of his female patients on the pretext of carrying out routine medical examinations.

During his trial, the jury heard Cox got patients to undress unnecessarily, touched their breasts, pressed his body against them, and carried out internal examinations when they were not needed or without using gloves.

Judge Sarah Campbell said Cox was the 'worst kind of sexual predator' and had assaulted vulnerable women he thought would be less likely to complain.

Reading Crown Court previously heard that Cox was 'motivated by sexual pleasure' when he assaulted the women at the former Ralphs Ride practice, now the Waterfield Practice.   

Cox, claimed the women were mistaken in their allegations and insisted that the examinations would have been medically justified.

He also said he did not recall seeing any of the patients and that they were not telling the truth.

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Family doctor, 65, is found guilty of indecently assaulting seven female patients

After the GP was convicted, Detective Constable Sara Di Giorgio said Cox was a 'prolific and predatory sex offender hiding beneath the mask of being a trusted doctor', and he 'completely betrayed' patients' trust.

She added that Cox carried out a series of indecent assaults 'which his victims have had to live with for many decades' and did not display 'an ounce of remorse'.  

The offences had taken place before the use of electronically stored healthcare records, which meant the police investigation was centered around handwritten GP notes.

The indecent assaults were not reported at the time and victims came forward once a police investigation opened into Cox, the CPS said.

Lawyer Chris White said Cox's behaviour was 'clearly sexually motivated' and he 'used his position to take advantage of his patients'.

'With no witnesses to the assaults, it was the strength of all the victims' accounts, which showed a similar pattern in Cox's behaviour, that helped secure his conviction,' he said.

'We would like to thank them for coming forward and we hope today's sentence gives them some sense of closure.'

 A jury was discharged in a previous trial, at the same court, when it failed to reach verdicts on seven counts of indecent assaults on women in March 2023. Cox was cleared of another count of indecent assault at that time.

Some of his victims came forward to lodge complaints about Cox's behavior after hearing or reading about legal action against him in local media.

The judge said Cox had deliberately targeted the women. Some had left abusive partners or got unexpectedly pregnant. Another was grieving a parent.

She said the way the victims did not report Cox immediately after the assaults 'will have struck a chord' with many women.