GP not guilty of sexual assaults

Dr Dulal Banerjee denied claims made by patients

A north Wales doctor accused of sexually assaulting 17 of his female patients has been found not guilty of all charges against him.

Wrexham GP Dr Banerjee, 58, from Green Park, had denied 21 counts of assault which were alleged to have taken place between January 1986 and December 2000.

Dr Banerjee worked at the Coedpoeth Clinic

Following nearly 20 hours of deliberations, the jury cleared him of all but two of the indecent assault charges.

After the jury at Chester Crown Court had been dismissed early on Wednesday afternoon, the prosecution revealed they would not be seeking a retrial.

The judge then declared Dr Banerjee not guilty of the remaining two charges.

Dr Banerjee and his family wept when the jury's verdicts were announced - he is now looking forward to returning to work.

In a statement, his statement revealed his relief at the outcome.

"Relief not because there was any doubt about the proper outcome, but relief because the case proves the adage that allegations of indecent assault are easily made and very difficult to disprove."

On Tuesday, Dr Banerjee had been found not guilty of eight charges.

During the three-week trial, the jury heard allegations the doctor had abused his position of trust while working at the Coedpoeth Clinic, where his wife is also a GP.

It was claimed Dr Banerjee had conducted unnecessary internal examinations and left patients feeling "upset, embarrassed and violated".

Good practice

However Dr Banerjee insisted he had carried out examinations in accordance with recognised good practice.

Earlier in the trial the jury was told the GP was motivated by sexual gratification.

The prosecution claimed the examinations brought "some sort of pleasure or other gratification to the defendant", but caused his victims "downright anger".

However patients giving evidence in his defence had paid tribute to his skills as a GP and described him as a thorough and genuinely caring doctor.

The 17 women who had made the case against Dr Banerjee have since left the practice.

But many of his current patients attended court in a show of support.