Woman still has 'nightmares' of GP accused of assault

Exterior view of Reading Crown Court with steps up to arched entrance to the buildingImage source, Paul Gillett
Image caption,

Dr Stephen Cox is on trial at Reading Crown Court

  • Published

A woman has told a court she still has nightmares decades later about the GP who she says assaulted her.

Stephen Cox, 64, denies 16 counts of indecent assault against seven women while he practised as a GP in Bracknell, Berkshire, between 1988 and 1997.

In a recorded police interview played to the jury at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, one of the patients described several incidents where she was physically examined by Dr Cox.

She said she felt "uneasy" but "did what he said because he was a doctor".

She said the first incident happened in 1988, when she was in her 20s.

Dr Cox asked her to remove her top and bra as he needed to listen to her chest but then "put one of his hands on my left breast", she said.

"He just didn’t seem right," she said.

She described him "grinding" himself against her as he stood behind her, and said he later asked questions about her breasts.

She said on another occasion, when she was pregnant, Dr Cox said he needed to perform an internal examination but afterwards she realised he was not wearing medical gloves.

After that incident she always attempted to see other doctors, but she said soon after her baby was born Dr Cox arrived unexpectedly for a home visit.

She said they exchanged words, and she asked if he was going to grope her again - then described him grabbing her round the throat and pushing her against a kitchen cupboard.

"I wanted to tell somebody but it was my word against his," she said.

"I have nightmares and he always crops up... he's still there, you can feel him, you can smell him."

The trial continues.

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