A doctor who squeezed a cleaner’s bottom in a cupboard was allowed to carry on working while awaiting trial for sexual assault, a court has heard.
Married father-of-four Chiemedo Ikpo, 50, left his victim an ‘absolute mess’ after he pursued his ‘amorous intentions’ against her will.
He squeezed her bottom for six seconds at St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight. Ikpo, supported in court by his wife, avoided jail and was ordered to carry out community service after being found guilty of sexual assault at an earlier trial. Portsmouth Crown Court heard he was initially suspended but was then allowed to work under supervision – including in gynaecology.
He was finally dismissed by Isle of Wight NHS Trust after his conviction in June – more than four years after the incident. His victim, who cannot be identified, criticised the trust’s decision to allow him to continue working.
She said she felt she was seen as ‘just a cleaner’, adding: ‘There’s been no support from the hospital. There’s been more support for Mr Ikpo than for me. I have been an absolute mess at work, crying all the time.’
In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Andrew Houston, the victim described Ikpo as a ‘predator’. ‘I can’t stop looking over my shoulder at work to make sure there’s no one behind me,’ she said.
Hannah Hurley, mitigating at Friday’s sentencing hearing, urged the judge not to send Ikpo to prison, saying the incident was ‘out of character’.
She said Ikpo denied there was ‘any sexual element’ to the incident. His Honour Judge William Ashworth said Ikpo’s role as a doctor was ‘a position in which a lot of respect and trust is placed’ and that any sexual assault is a ‘gross violation’.
He said there was an ‘imbalance of power’, adding: ‘No one is just a cleaner. We are all humans. We are all equal.’
Ikpo, of Orpington, south-east London, must undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation days. He must also pay £2,500 in costs and be registered as a sex offender.