Chiemedo Ikpo, 50, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court, where he was sentenced to community service after being convicted of sexual assault related to the event at the hospital. Portsmouth Crown Court was informed that the doctor was first suspended but subsequently permitted to operate under supervision, including in gynaecology, while awaiting his trial. He was terminated by the hospital following his conviction in June of this year, over four years subsequent to the occurrence.
The prosecutor, Andrew Houston, read a statement from the victim, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, to the court.
She said, “I can’t stop looking over my shoulder at work to make sure there’s no one behind me.
“I have been an absolute mess at work, crying all the time.
“It took me a while to feel safe in [the] cleaning cupboard.
“There’s been no support from the hospital. There’s been more support for Mr Chiemedo Ikpo than there has been for me.”
Hannah Hurley, defending, said that the incident was ‘out of character’ for Chiemedo Ikpo and that he denied that there was ‘any sexual element’ to the incident. She urged the judge not to send him to prison, and she said that ‘this has impacted his mental health’.
His Honour Judge William Ashworth said that Chiemedo 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’ where ‘the victim is left feeling she is “just a cleaner”’ because of the ‘wholly irresponsible’ way in which Chiemedo Ikpo decided to pursue his ‘own amorous intentions with her.’
He added, “No one is just a cleaner. We are all humans. We are all equal.”
Chiemedo Ikpo, who is now based in Orpington, Greater London, was handed a community order of 24 months, including 100 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He will also be required to pay £2500 in costs, and he will be registered as a sex offender.
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