Stephen Doohan has been removed from the healthcare professionals register after pleading guilty to sexual assault and depositing a drug into a woman's vagina causing her to abort, and depositing with intent to cause her to abort. He was jailed for more than 10 years at Glasgow’s High Court in July. Doohan used his knowledge as a paramedic to plan an illegal abortion by using unauthorised access to medical information via his workplace.
Melbin Thankachan, a radiographer, has been removed from the health care professionals register after pulling down the shorts of a patient at Alder Hey children’s hospital without consulting them or their parents. Thankachan was employed at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool from 19 July to 31 December 2022. He resigned after being placed on an informal performance plan and later sent a threatening email to a former colleague in August 2023.
Thankachan admitted the allegations and confirmed that his fitness to practise was impaired by misconduct and lack of competence. Dr Jonathon Dean, a trainee anaesthetist, has been struck off the medical register after being jailed for stealing drugs from a hospital and injecting them into a woman during sex. He was jailed for more than two years in 2024 at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting nine counts of theft of drugs and possession of Class A drugs.
Dean stole drugs from Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, and drove to Cambridge in 2018 to meet a woman for 'chemically enhanced sex'. A Swedish doctor convicted of rapes and sexual assaults against patients has lost his medical license. The Swedish doctor was sentenced to seven years in prison by a district court, which was increased to eight years by an appeals court.
9 million kronor in damages to the victims, with the assaults occurring at healthcare centers in Uppsala and Stockholm. These cases highlight a pattern of healthcare professionals abusing their positions of trust, leading to severe legal and professional consequences. In a separate and extreme case, Dr Baraa Almasri was banned from practicing in the UK earlier this month after a tribunal found he was aware of his flatmate's activities involving illegal castrations, amputations and genital removals broadcast online to paying subscribers.
Messages found on Almasri's phone showed he displayed willingness to take part or observe the activities and made light of the depravity. A heavily redacted MPTS report does not name his roommate, but information contained makes it clear it was Marius Gustavson. Marius Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years for what a judge described as 'little short of human butchery'.
little short of human butchery
Old Bailey prosecutors said Gustavson's website generated almost £300,000, mixing financial gain with sexual gratification while leaving victims with life-changing injuries. Gustavson operated from his basement flat in Haringey with unqualified accomplices, targeting vulnerable men worldwide including some as young as 16. Dr Almasri worked in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and later in an anaesthetic department in Romania before moving to the UK for a work placement in 2019.
Between November 2019 and August 2022, Almasri held various roles in the NHS, initially unpaid observer roles at Essex Partnership University Trust and later paid work at Western House, St Margaret's Hospital, and Sussex Partnership NHS Trust. He met Gustavson in January 2019 and moved into his home in February 2020. Dr Almasri was arrested in December 2021 but answered no comment to all questions and refused to provide the code for his phone.
When police accessed his phone, they found messages demonstrating Dr Almasri had a keen interest in Gustavson's website. The MPTS report states the messages demonstrate Dr Almasri appeared supportive of Gustavson's activities, showed interest in procedures and helping with the website, and discussed lack of surgical skill but willingness to learn. The MPTS report notes the activities were discussed over more than one year yet Dr Almasri never sought to dissuade Gustavson, and the activities were a source of humor and amusement between them.
Legal outcomes have included lengthy prison sentences and professional bans, with regulatory bodies taking decisive action. The implications for healthcare trust and patient safety are significant, as these cases erode confidence in medical institutions. Several unknowns remain in these cases.
The identity of the Swedish doctor convicted of rapes and sexual assaults against patients has not been disclosed publicly. It is unclear whether Dr Baraa Almasri participated in or assisted with any of Marius Gustavson's illegal activities beyond showing interest in messages. Additionally, the specific reasons why the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Dr Almasri with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm have not been detailed.
The current status or whereabouts of the victims in the cases involving Stephen Doohan, Melbin Thankachan, Dr Jonathon Dean, and the Swedish doctor are not publicly known. Whether there are ongoing investigations or potential further actions against other individuals involved in these cases is also uncertain.