Saturday, March, 7 2026 - A s£xual health doctor who had a 'special interest in penises' has been jailed for six years after secretly filming and abusing male patients.
Dr Timothy Girling, 55, was a practising s£xual health
doctor at a medical centre in Bournemouth, Dorset, where he preyed on male
patients by groping and recording them during intimate examinations.
The 'deeply calculated' medic exploited his position to
'manipulate vulnerable individuals' and carried out a series of s£xual offences
'under the guise of legitimate medical practice', Bournemouth Crown Court
heard.
Girling was exposed after one male patient heard his iPhone
start recording and noticed the device poking out of his pocket.
Dorset Police launched an investigation in August 2023 and
identified two further patients who had been s£xually ass@ulted, one of whom
had also been recorded.
Officers examined the doctor's devices and uncovered further
recordings as well as 600 images of penises or 'tight clothing' and indecent
images of children. He also set up a camera to film other men using a bathroom.
The court was told Girling had been diagnosed as having
autistic spectrum disorder, which led to him developing a 'special area of
interest' in penises.
A jury found Girling guilty of three counts of s£xual
ass@ult, six charges of voyeurism, and one of attempted voyeurism. He also
pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children.
The court was told Girling would s£xually assault and
perform s£x acts on the patients under the guise of examining them for
complaints of rashes or other health issues.
A male patient first reported Girling to the police after he
noticed him recording on his mobile phone during an examination. The victim
took the doctor's phone, and Girling ran out of the building.
When police spoke to the patient, he also reported that he
had been touched inappropriately by Girling at a previous appointment.
Prosecutors said the doctor's intimate physical examination
went 'far beyond what was clinically required'.
At the time, the patient believed it was part of the medical
procedure, and trusted that Girling was acting in a professional manner.
But at the later appointment, he heard the sound of a mobile
phone beginning to record and saw an iPhone partially concealed in Girling's
pocket.
Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, told the trial that Girling was
'using the guise of medical necessity to gain sexual gratification'.
She added: 'Patients went to the clinic with the expectation
that they might need to be touched for their medical condition to be diagnosed
and treated.'
One of the victims told police: 'I left there crying because
it was very wrong and he just abused his power.'
He added: 'I was a very, very vulnerable person back then, I
was in a really dark place.'
Ms Austin said Girling had been diagnosed as having autistic
spectrum disorder and added: 'Autism leads to developing special areas of
interest and he had one in penises.'
Sentencing Girling, Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said the
defendant had carried on offending despite having been suspended and reinstated
following an earlier complaint.
He added the defendant had also shown 'weird' behaviour of
photographing men urinating in alleyways, which did not form part of the
charges.
He told the defendant: 'Being a doctor is a significant
thing in a person's life and no doubt there must be many you have helped, but
on another darker side, there are those you have abused.'
The judge dismissed the defendant's diagnosis of autism as
the cause of his offending and told him: 'Your interest was a sexual one and
that sexual activity was of your own choosing.
'The reality is you used your position to satisfy your
particular sexual interests. This was a gross betrayal of your patients'
trust.'
Detective Constable Kit Little, of Dorset Police, said:
'Timothy Girling was in a position of trust as a sexual health doctor and
exploited this by inappropriately touching and making recordings of his
victims.
'We have worked tirelessly since the initial report was
first made in August 2023 to investigate Girling's offending, identify further
victims where possible, and bring him to justice.
'This would not have been possible without the strength and
courage of the victims, who supported our investigation and the court process
to ensure Girling was ultimately held to account.'
Lucy Paddick, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'A
doctor's duty is to care for patients, not exploit them, and Timothy Girling
repeatedly violated that fundamental trust.
'These sexual offences, carried out under the guise of
legitimate medical practice, were deeply calculated.
'He manipulated vulnerable individuals and exploited them in
clinical settings - a place where they should feel safe and secure.
'In court, we showed how he used his professional position
to facilitate this offending and secretly record intimate examinations.
'We hope these convictions demonstrate that such abuse of
authority will be robustly prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service.'
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