A sexual health doctor who had a 'special interest in penises' and kept 600 images on his devices has been jailed for six years for sexually assaulting male patients. Dr Timothy Girling, 55, from West Molesey, Surrey, was convicted at Bournemouth Crown Court of three charges of sexual assault against four patients, six counts of voyeurism and one of attempted voyeurism. He also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children.
The court heard that Girling would sexually assault and perform sex acts on patients under the guise of examining them for complaints such as rashes. He used his iPhone to secretly film the appointments and set up a camera to record other men using a bathroom. Prosecutor Rebecca Austin told the trial that Girling was 'using the guise of medical necessity to gain sexual gratification'.
One victim told police: 'I left there crying because it was very wrong and he just abused his power. I was a very, very vulnerable person back then, I was in a really dark place.' Ms Austin said Girling had been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, adding: 'Autism leads to developing special areas of interest and he had one in penises.'
Sentencing him, Judge Jonathan Fuller KC dismissed the autism diagnosis as the cause of the offending. He told Girling: 'Your interest was a sexual one and that sexual activity was of your own choosing... The reality is you used your position to satisfy your particular sexual interests. This was a gross betrayal of your patients' trust.' The judge noted that the defendant had continued offending despite being suspended and reinstated after an earlier complaint.
Lucy Paddick of the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'A doctor's duty is to care for patients, not exploit them, and Timothy Girling repeatedly violated that fundamental trust. These sexual offences, carried out under the guise of legitimate medical practice, were deeply calculated. He manipulated vulnerable individuals and exploited them in clinical settings – a place where they should feel safe and secure.'
