Doctor jailed for assault on girl

Rashid Sandhu worked at James Paget Hospital (Pic Alban Donohoe)

A doctor who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old patient has been jailed for eight years.

Rashid Sandhu, 30, of Welling, London, who worked at James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, had denied carrying out a sexual assault.

Norwich Crown Court heard the girl had attended the hospital with a friend last June fearing they were pregnant.

Jurors were told that Sandhu touched her indecently while claiming to be carrying out an abortion.

The doctor had earlier admitted making indecent photos of young girls on his laptop and possessing more than 170 indecent images of children on his computer.

The court heard the victim and a 15-year-old friend had attended the hospital's accident and emergency department last summer.

It doesn't matter if you're a doctor or a dustman - if you decide you are going to abuse children, you will be dealt with Det Insp Matt Sharman

Pregnancy tests carried out by Sandhu were negative.

He later called the older girl and said it was possible they may be pregnant and told both to return to hospital the following day, jurors heard.

Judge Simon Barham told him: "You ensured no medical records were made at the hospital as you took her through a staff entrance.

"This was the gravest abuse towards a patient. There was a large degree of manipulative and predatory behaviour and you knew she was a vulnerable child. It was carefully planned."

Sandhu was also sentenced to six months, to run concurrently, for the indecent images.

John Donnolly, mitigating, said: "It's a tragedy. He is from an especially hard working military family in Pakistan."

He added it was "almost inevitable" that Sandhu's medical career was now over.

Sandhu was also banned indefinitely from working with children.