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Family doctor 'travelled 100 miles with intention of raping girl of ten'



By Josh Sandiford Birmingham Live 09.09.2023 [Rupesh Seth] - [UK]

A GP travelled 100 miles with the intention of raping a girl of ten, a tribunal heard. Rupesh Seth, who was jailed for more than three years in March, has now been struck off the medical register.


A medical tribunal panel said the 39-year-old's actions were “deplorable” and a ban on working in medicine was the only way to "protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of the public”. Seth's sick behaviour was ruled to be “fundamentally incompatible with being a doctor”. Seth, from Wareham in Dorset, was arrested in 2020 after travelling to Egham in Surrey to abuse what he thought was a youngster, Surrey Police said. Searches of his phones uncovered child sexual abuse imagery. Georgina Goring, of the General Medical Council, said the family doctor’s actions “did not involve a single act but related to conduct which took place over a prolonged period, reflecting serious behavioural and attitudinal issues”. Tribunal Chairwoman Ogheneruona Iguyovwe said the ban on practising medicine would be immediate.


Seth - who qualified at the University of Birmingham in 2008 - was said to have used encrypted chat programmes to discuss child sex abuse and arrange a girl’s rape with a man he met online. But the PA news agency reported the man was actually an undercover police officer.


The tribunal heard 41 indecent pictures found on Seth’s two mobiles included 27 at the most depraved category A level. Seth previously told officers he had "developed an addiction to indecent images of children and needed help”.


He was jailed for 39 months after he admitted to trying to arrange and facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and three counts of making indecent images of children. Det Con Andy Grimwood, from Surrey Police, said Seth’s arrest came after a joint investigation between the force’s Paedophile Online Investigations Team and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.


He said: “Thankfully, during this investigation, there was never a real-life victim. No children were ever in danger.” NHS Dorset opened a dedicated helpline for those with concerns. The healthcare trust said Seth "previously worked in a number of health settings across Dorset” including at “GP practices in and around Bournemouth along with placements at local hospitals before his arrest”.


There was no evidence patients were put at risk, the organisation said. Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Simmons said at the time: "The actions of Dr Seth are inexcusable.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.

 
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