Ex-GP who committed 115 sex offences against teenage girls and women handed two more life sentences
Matt MathersMon, 9 January 2023 at 4:01 pm GMT·5-min read
Ex-GP who committed 115 sex offences against teenage girls and women handed two more life sentences
A “sick and twisted” former doctor who committed 115 sexual offences against teenage girls and women has been handed two more life sentences and told by a judge that he remains a “danger to women”.
Manish Shah, 53, described as the “master of deception”, abused his position of trust to carry out the offences on 28 women and girls as young as 15.
At his trial, the court heard how the ex-GP, of Romford, east London, flattered and groomed victims over four years from 2009. He persuaded them to undergo unnecessary intimate examinations for his sexual gratification, the court heard.
London clinician now convicted of more than 100 sex crimes against multiple women
Jurors heard how he used the cases of celebrities Angelina Jolie and Jade Goody to convince his victims they needed to have procedures.
In 2018, Ms Jolie, the Hollywood actress, had a double mastectomy after learning that she had an elevated risk of developing break cancer.
Ms Goody, a TV personality who first rose to fame after appearing on the reality show Big Brother, died in 2009 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Sentencing at the Old Bailey on Monday, Judge Rook said Shah remained a "danger to women" as he highlighted the "scale and nature" of his crimes.
At the time of the offences, Shah had been a well-regarded GP partner at Mawney Road medical practice in Romford, east London, but has since been suspended and later struck off.
In February 2020, Shah was handed three life sentences with a minimum term of 15 years in prison for 90 offences against 24 women after two separate trials.
A third trial ended last month with 25 more convictions for sexual offences against four more women and girls.
On Monday, he was handed two life sentences with a minimum term of 10 years to run concurrently with the earlier sentences.
The life sentences related to offences against the two youngest victims, aged 15 and 17 when Shah began to abuse them and were given to reflect the gravity and "public abhorrence" that followed once they came to light, the judge said.
Judge Rook told Shah: "You selected young and vulnerable women, gained their trust and preyed on their fears."
He said the consequence of Shah’s behaviour had been to divert resources away from the NHS, damage the reputation of the surgery where he had worked and caused "long-term psychological damage" to his victims.
He added: "There can be no doubt your actions have undermined trust in general practitioners."
Manish Shah carried out 115 offences against women and teenage girls (PA Media)
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: "All 25 offences were part of a campaign of offending involving now 115 sexual offences against 28 victims.
"It was carefully planned. There was a mixture of flattery and fear in women. He selected vulnerable women. He gained their trust by saying he cared about them, he claimed he had special skills."
The first victim, who was in her early 20s, described the devastating effect on her after police knocked on her door eight years ago.
In a victim impact statement, she said: "This triggered something in my life. I stopped being the social outgoing person overnight. I started getting panic attacks."
Shah told the second victim, who was aged just 15, that she was a "star" and his "favourite" and "would do well in modelling" while warning her she might get cancer as part of his grooming campaign.
In her statement read to the court, she said: "For me personally the journey bringing Mr Shah to justice has been extremely difficult and life-changing. I was only 15.
"Your actions, Mr Shah, have haunted me for 12 years, affecting very important years of my growth from youth to womanhood."
Before the abuse, she was a "confident young girl" who was "naive but innocent" and now felt "violated and insecure", she said.
In 2018, she was forced to move away from the Romford area for her own protection as a witness after being "verbally abused", "downgraded" and intimidated by people who could not believe what happened.
She called on Shah to acknowledge the "mind-blowing" damage he caused by his "sick and twisted" behaviour.
The third victim, who was abused aged 34, said Shah’s failure to admit what he had done had made things worse.
She said: "He just put me through more and more trauma. He preyed on the vulnerable.
"I want to move on with my life, have a good life, not the life I currently live."
The fourth victim was aged 17 and 18 when Shah sexually assaulted her almost every time she attended appointments.
His abuse had led to the destruction of her relationship with her partner and left her no longer able to trust any man, she said.
Earlier in mitigation, Amanda Hamilton said: "He has gone from a position many would envy to a position lower than most of us can imagine. He can see no end to his sentence. He does not know what is going to happen when he comes before the parole board."
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Rook noted Shah was married and still had the support of his family, there was no evidence of offending while on bail and had been a "model prisoner" since being jailed.
Paul Goddard, senior crown prosecutor with the CPS, said Shah’s actions were a gross and devastating breach of his profession and of the trust placed in him.
"The defendant told these women and girls lies about his experience and also about the state of their health, lies designed to convince them that repeated intimate examinations were necessary, and to conceal his true motives in carrying them out.”
The judge imposed further determinate jail terms for the remaining counts which will also run concurrent to the life sentences.
