Doctor faces jail over assaults

A doctor has been told he could be sent to prison after being found guilty of indecently assaulting three women patients.

Ian Cowie, 50, will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register following the assaults in his surgeries in West Yorkshire.

The jury at Leeds Crown Court found him guilty of three counts of indecently assaulting patients - but cleared him of a further two charges.

Cowie, of Hanging Heaton, had denied all five charges relating to incidents at the practices in Batley and Chickenley, near Dewsbury.

The jury decided on Monday that he inappropriately squeezed the breast of a patient who had complained of chest pains.

'Extremely serious'

On Friday, they found Cowie guilty of two further assaults on his women patients.

The jury heard that the doctor rubbed a student's breasts "in a caressing manner" after she complained of stomach pains.

The court heard she felt "humiliated, disgusted and violated".

The jury was told another patient complained that Cowie unexpectedly exposed her breasts while examining her.

On Monday, Judge Shaun Spencer said: "You must bear in mind that for a doctor to be convicted of indecently assaulting patients is a serious matter and I'm bound to have a custodial sentence very much in the forefront of my thinking."

Cowie was given unconditional bail until the sentencing hearing on 24 October.