Fiona Robertson represented a doctor accused of two sets of sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred while he was employed as a consultant paediatrician at a local hospital. Fiona successfully opposed joinder of the cases on the grounds the allegations, and defences to each, were fundamentally different and it would be too prejudicial to try them together.
In the first case, the doctor was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting his former secretary. He was alleged to have showered her with unwanted gifts and compliments before progressing to pressing his body against hers during hugs, kissing her on the neck and mouth and attempting to put his fingers into her mouth while feeding her chocolate. The doctor denied the allegations asserting his attentions were no more than expressions of his appreciation for her good work and that innocent gestures of affection between friendly colleagues had been miscast as something inappropriate. The doctor was unanimously acquitted following a 7 day trial.
In the second case, the doctor was accused of historic sexual offences against two children aged under 13 during the course of medical examinations. He was accused of deliberately screening the children off from their parents and using legitimate medical examinations as an excuse to digitally penetrate two young children – an act that was neither clinically appropriate nor justified. The doctor asserted the complainants were honest but mistaken in their recollection of events some 10 and 20 years earlier. The case involved significant expert evidence on sexual offending towards children including the risks of pain or injury caused by penetrative assaults and the potential for legitimate genital examinations to be mistaken for penetration by young children. The doctor was unanimously acquitted following a 9 day trial.
Fiona was instructed in both matters by Sam Flew and Darci Martin from Weightmans.
Fiona Robertson