Former doctor Nathaniel Spencer has pleaded not guilty to 45 sexual offences alleged to have been committed against 38 women and girls between 2017 and 2021. The charges include sexual assault, assault by penetration, and offences against children under 13, with the youngest alleged victims aged six and seven.
Details of the charges
At Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday, the 39-year-old from Hockley, Birmingham, entered not guilty pleas to 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, and one count of attempted assault by penetration. The clerk of the court took nearly 15 minutes to read all charges.
Background of the investigation
Staffordshire Police described the investigation as complex. Spencer was charged in December last year following allegations of sexual assaults on patients at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley. He was a resident doctor with The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust at the time of the alleged offences.
Court proceedings and bail
Spencer first appeared at North Staffordshire Justice Centre in January. At his second appearance, Judge Graeme Smith renewed his bail and scheduled a further preparatory hearing at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court for February 8 next year. A crown court trial is set to begin at Loughborough Courthouse in October next year.
