Latest news with #GregoryManson
BBC News
04-07-2025
- BBC News
Ex-GP from Canterbury jailed after sex offences against patients
A former GP from Canterbury who conducted unnecessary genital examinations on male patients across almost two decades has been jailed for seven years. Gregory Manson, 56, was convicted of 12 sexual assaults and four indecent assaults against nine males at Canterbury Crown Court on 56-year-old, who was charged with 24 offences overall, was acquitted of six offences while two others were alternative charges which did not require sentencing on Friday, Judge Simon Taylor KC said that Manson "periodically and opportunistically abused male patients" for almost all of his career. 'Camouflaged sexual abuse' The judge told Manson that he had "camouflaged sexual abuse in the context of medical examinations" for the better part of two decades. He said: "The abuse of trust here is immense. People trusted you with access to their bodies and you abused that trust for your own sexual gratification."You were able to construct a false defence to justify your sexual assaults because that is something that is very easy for a GP to do." One of Manson's victims read out a personal impact statement in court on Friday in which he said he "never now visits the GP".The victim added: "What still stuns me is how normal you made all of this seem."It was calculated, it was deliberate and we now know it was abuse. You built a wall of goodwill around yourself and then used it as a shield."Manson, who denied the charges throughout, told the jury that his motivation was to rule out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the former GP was remunerated by the NHS at 90% of his salary following his suspension in 2017. This remuneration then halved in November 2023 and stopped in 2024, the court heard.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- BBC News
Ex-GP from Canterbury convicted of sex offences against patients
A former GP from Canterbury has been found guilty of a number of sexual offences on male patients, including two teenage boys, across almost two Manson, 56, committed the offences between 1994 and 2017 while examining male patients' genitals in his capacity as a GP, the jury was told during his trial. Manson, who denied all the charges, told Canterbury Crown Court that his medical examinations were "not sexually motivated at all".He will be sentenced on Friday, with Judge Simon Taylor KC warning Manson to expect a custodial term. The former GP was charged with 24 offences overall. Of those, he was convicted by majority verdict of 12 sexual assaults and four indecent assaults against nine was found not guilty of six offences, and two others were alternative charges which did not require verdicts. 'Rare diseases' examinations During the trial, prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC said "many examinations he performed were not medically justified"."In truth Dr Manson took frequent opportunities to examine patients' genitals, not because he needed to but because he wanted to," she earliest two victims were brothers, and he was their doctor before and after they were 16, the court older brother's medical notes suggests that he was seen 11 times between the ages of 14 and 19, and he said he remembered his genitals being examined on "over half" of those first complaint of sexual assault against Manson was filed in 2017, followed by an NHS England exercise which saw more alleged victims come told jurors that his motivation was to rule out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the past. Jurors heard during the trial that Ian Wall, a professor of forensic medicine and GP, was "surprised" that Manson considered testicular examination part of a new patient was found to have taken limited notes on these examinations, which he denied was an attempt to hide his his conviction, Will Bodiam from the Crown Prosecution Service said Manson abused the trust between GP and patient "in an appalling way"."They described their discomfort at what happened to them and some of them actively tried to avoid seeing Manson because of their previous experiences with him," Mr Bodiam added.
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Ex-GP found guilty of sex offences after carrying out ‘unnecessary' genital exams
A former GP is facing jail after conducting 'unnecessary' genital examinations on patients, including two teenage boys. Gregory Manson, 56, has been found guilty of conducting groin exams even when his patients came in with coughs, headaches, back pain and knee sprains. Some of his accusers said he pulled down their underwear without asking their permission. Manson told jurors at Canterbury Crown Court that his medical examinations were 'not sexually motivated at all' and were instead based on ruling out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the past. After originally working in South Africa, Manson qualified as a GP in the UK in 1998 and also worked as a GP trainer, programme director of GP training and GP appraiser for the General Medical Council before his dismissal in 2017. Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, denied 18 offences of sexual assault and six of indecent assault in respect of nine victims. On Thursday, he stared at the floor as jurors at Canterbury Crown Court returned their verdicts after 10 hours and 29 minutes of deliberation. Manson was convicted by majority verdict of 12 sexual assaults and four indecent assaults against nine men which took place over almost two decades. He was found not guilty of six offences, and two others were alternative charges which did not require verdicts. Judge Simon Taylor KC warned Manson: 'It will be a prison sentence, so you need to prepare for that.' During the trial, the prosecution noted that 'many examinations he performed were not medically justified' and that other GPs would not have carried them out. 'In truth Dr Manson took frequent opportunities to examine patients' genitals, not because he needed to but because he wanted to,' said Jennifer Knight KC, prosecuting. The earliest two victims of the former GP were brothers, and he was their doctor before and after they were 16, the court heard. They both remember being taken to an examination room next to the consultant room before being told to sit on the bed and pull down their trousers and boxer shorts. The older brother's medical notes suggests that he was seen 11 times by Manson between the ages of 14 and 19, and he remembered his genitals being examined on 'over half' of those visits. Ms Knight said: 'The examinations seemed to him (the victim) to be done professionally and as a young teenager, he assumed they were required. 'As he got older however, he became uncomfortable about these examinations and wondered whether they should be so frequent.' Their mother told investigators she never met the former GP when they were young teenagers as she would stay in the waiting room. Many of the examinations relate to what the former GP called 'well person checks' which were offered to new patients at the surgery he worked for, the court heard. Giving evidence last week, Manson said: 'Part of your work as a GP is disease prevention and health promotion, we do that all the time. 'You're looking for any pathology or disease that may be asymptomatic that somebody is not necessarily aware of.' A professor of forensic medicine and GP, Ian Wall, was 'surprised' that Manson considered testicular examination part of a new patient check during his review of Manson's medical notes, jurors heard during the trial. Manson added: 'When I worked in South Africa, particularly in many hospitals that didn't have facilities to further investigate things, your training was very much in examination and being thorough with examinations. An MRI was not available in Soweto.' He told the court about his early work as a GP and why losing patients had made him conduct more 'thorough' investigations. The former GP said that every doctor remembered their 'first death', and his was a man who had arrived with what was initially thought to be a stomach ulcer but was in fact an abdominal aortic aneurysm. 'When you have experiences like this and you examine an abdomen you are haunted,' said Manson. Opening the case, Ms Knight told jurors: 'Dr Manson performed unnecessary examinations of male patients' genitals without offering a chaperone or providing any proper explanation to the patients involved of the reason for the examination, and without wearing gloves. 'Dr Manson also failed to document in patients' notes the fact that such examinations had taken place or what his findings if any were.' Following his conviction, Will Bodiam from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'These patients trusted Manson as he was their GP and he abused that trust in an appalling way, carrying out intimate examinations which were not all medically justified. 'They described their discomfort at what happened to them and some of them actively tried to avoid seeing Manson because of their previous experiences with him. 'On several occasions, the victims were not even given the option to consent to the examinations and had their underwear removed with no warning.' He added: 'This is not what patients should expect from their GPs.' Manson will be sentenced on July 4, and remains on bail until then, with new conditions of residence and that he does not enter an international airport, train station or port.
The Independent
23-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Ex-GP did genital exams because he was ‘haunted' by patient deaths, court hears
A former GP accused of conducting unnecessary genital examinations on nine male patients was 'haunted' by earlier misdiagnoses, a court heard. Gregory Manson, 56, is alleged to have carried out genital exams even when patients came to him with complaints of coughs, headaches, back pain and knee sprains. His accusers said they do not recall him wearing gloves, offering a chaperone or giving 'proper explanations' for the examinations before they took place. On Monday, Manson told jurors at Canterbury Crown Court that his medical examinations were 'not sexually motivated at all' and were instead based on ruling out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the past. He worked as a GP between 1994 and 2017, and also worked as a GP trainer, programme director of GP training and GP appraiser for the General Medical Council. Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, denies 18 offences of sexual assault and six of indecent assault in respect of nine alleged victims, including two young teenagers. Many of these examinations relate to what the former GP calls 'well person checks' which were offered to new patients at the surgery he worked for, the court heard. Giving evidence, Manson said: 'Part of your work as a GP is disease prevention and health promotion, we do that all the time. 'You're looking for any pathology or disease that may be asymptomatic that somebody is not necessarily aware of.' Professor of Forensic Medicine and GP, Ian Wall was 'surprised' that Manson considered testicular examination part of a new patient check during his review of Manson's medical notes, jurors have heard. Manson added: 'When I worked in South Africa particularly in many hospitals that didn't have facilities to further investigate things, your training was very much in examination and being thorough with examinations. An MRI was not available in Soweto.' He told the court about his early work as a GP and why losing patients had made him conduct more 'thorough' investigations. The former GP said that every doctor remembered their 'first death', and his was a man who had arrived with what was initially thought to be a stomach ulcer but was in fact an abdominal aortic aneurysm. 'When you have experiences like this and you examine an abdomen you are haunted,' said Manson. Pushed on how rare the diseases he was testing were, he said: 'You never ever want to miss that and never ever want that to happen again.' He added that a 'comprehensive' abdominal exam would involve a genital exam. One of Manson's alleged victims claims the former GP pulled down their underwear without their consent. Asked if he could think of any occasions when that happened, he said: 'I can't think exactly of any, if someone had indicated that they were happy to proceed, I would never do it without someone indicating that they were happy for that to proceed. 'I can't remember each and every single examination that I ever did because I did so many. All I can say is that there may have been times where I didn't get it right. 'Maybe I assumed that people understood when they did not.' The prosecution earlier noted that 'many examinations he performed were not medically justified' and that other GPs would not have carried them out. 'In truth Dr Manson took frequent opportunities to examine patients' genitals not because he needed to, but because he wanted to,' said Jennifer Knight KC, prosecuting. Asked his reasons for the exams, Manson said: 'Not sexually motivated at all – the motivation each time is based on your clinical judgement at the time when dealing with the symptoms that a patient has before you. The trial continues.
Powys County Times
23-06-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Ex-GP did genital exams because he was ‘haunted' by patient deaths, court hears
A former GP accused of conducting unnecessary genital examinations on nine male patients was 'haunted' by earlier misdiagnoses, a court heard. Gregory Manson, 56, is alleged to have carried out genital exams even when patients came to him with complaints of coughs, headaches, back pain and knee sprains. His accusers said they do not recall him wearing gloves, offering a chaperone or giving 'proper explanations' for the examinations before they took place. On Monday, Manson told jurors at Canterbury Crown Court that his medical examinations were 'not sexually motivated at all' and were instead based on ruling out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the past. He worked as a GP between 1994 and 2017, and also worked as a GP trainer, programme director of GP training and GP appraiser for the General Medical Council. Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, denies 18 offences of sexual assault and six of indecent assault in respect of nine alleged victims, including two young teenagers. Many of these examinations relate to what the former GP calls 'well person checks' which were offered to new patients at the surgery he worked for, the court heard. Giving evidence, Manson said: 'Part of your work as a GP is disease prevention and health promotion, we do that all the time. 'You're looking for any pathology or disease that may be asymptomatic that somebody is not necessarily aware of.' Professor of Forensic Medicine and GP, Ian Wall was 'surprised' that Manson considered testicular examination part of a new patient check during his review of Manson's medical notes, jurors have heard. Manson added: 'When I worked in South Africa particularly in many hospitals that didn't have facilities to further investigate things, your training was very much in examination and being thorough with examinations. An MRI was not available in Soweto.' He told the court about his early work as a GP and why losing patients had made him conduct more 'thorough' investigations. The former GP said that every doctor remembered their 'first death', and his was a man who had arrived with what was initially thought to be a stomach ulcer but was in fact an abdominal aortic aneurysm. 'When you have experiences like this and you examine an abdomen you are haunted,' said Manson. Pushed on how rare the diseases he was testing were, he said: 'You never ever want to miss that and never ever want that to happen again.' He added that a 'comprehensive' abdominal exam would involve a genital exam. One of Manson's alleged victims claims the former GP pulled down their underwear without their consent. Asked if he could think of any occasions when that happened, he said: 'I can't think exactly of any, if someone had indicated that they were happy to proceed, I would never do it without someone indicating that they were happy for that to proceed. 'I can't remember each and every single examination that I ever did because I did so many. All I can say is that there may have been times where I didn't get it right. 'Maybe I assumed that people understood when they did not.' The prosecution earlier noted that 'many examinations he performed were not medically justified' and that other GPs would not have carried them out. 'In truth Dr Manson took frequent opportunities to examine patients' genitals not because he needed to, but because he wanted to,' said Jennifer Knight KC, prosecuting. Asked his reasons for the exams, Manson said: 'Not sexually motivated at all – the motivation each time is based on your clinical judgement at the time when dealing with the symptoms that a patient has before you.
