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Former West Lindsey councillor in court
Tuesday 4pm A DENTIST who once stood as an MP groped a string of women patients' breasts claiming he was worried that their "glands were swollen", a court heard today.(Mon)
Doctor Adrian Heath allegedly asked one woman to undo her trousers after tweaking her nipples.
And the former prospective Lib Dem MP told another patient he was worried her inflamed glands could "lead to other things" as he cupped her breasts in his hands.
The 44-year-old married man claimed he was concerned about the four women's health, but a jury at Nottingham Crown Court heard the examinations had "no clinical justification."
Jonathon Straw, prosecuting, told the jury one alleged offence took place in August 2008 when a middle-aged female taxi driver was treated by the dentist for an abscess.
He was alone with the woman at the Genesis Dental Care practice in Gainsborough, Lincs, after asking his nurse to go and develop an X-ray.
Doctor Heath started work at the newly opened NHS surgery in April 2008 following a spell at a practice in Lincoln.
Mr Straw said: "He went to stand by the woman to examine her glands because her jaw was swollen because of the abscess.
"He moved his hand down to her shoulders and explained that glands run right through the body and the abscess might have affected the rest of her glands.
"He asked if he could examine and touch her breasts. She believed it was part of a legitimate examination. He probed around the top of her breasts with his fingers and lifted one breast out of her bra and said 'It's swollen, I'll have to examine the other'.
"He then tweaked one of the woman's nipples and asked if it hurt.
"He replaced the breast in the bra and then asked if she would undo her trousers. She replied 'No, I'm sorry, you're embarrassing me now',"
The traumatised woman left the surgery and later discussed with a friend and her husband what had gone on and both agreed it was not normal.
The 50 year-old contacted her GP's nurse and she advised her to go to the police.
The court was told when the dental nurse had returned with the X-ray Dr Heath had asked her to stay out of the room.
Later when she challenged him about it he told her he had spotted signs of a sexually transmitted disease in the woman's mouth and needed to speak to the woman alone as it was a sensitive issue.
The court was told another victim went to Doctor Heath's with an infected wisdom tooth and as she sat in the chair he told her 'Your glands are up, that's dangerous and can led to other things' before carrying out an examination of her breasts.
Mr Straw told the jury the woman was "distraught" because a close relative had recently died of breast cancer.
The jury were told the dentist had originally gone on trial over the same offences in September last year.
But that trial was abandoned when police were contacted by a woman who had read about the case and claimed she had been sexually assaulted twice in the same way when Dr Heath examined her in November 2007 at The Oasis Dental Practice in Lincoln.
Dr Heath is a former member of West Lindsey District Council and fought the Gainsborough constituency for the Liberal Democrats in the 2005 General Election.
He polled more than 12,000 votes finishing second to veteran Conservative Edward Leigh who had held the seat since 1997.
During his campaign Heath said he wished he had not revealed his day job.
He said the worst thing he had ever done was to say he was an NHS dentist on his election material because people had started asking for quotes on root canals rather than talking about election issues.
When arrested he told police he had treated the women "in an appropriate clinical way."
Heath, of Roseberry Avenue, Lincoln, denies five counts of sexual assault between November 2007 and August 2008
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Weather for Market Rasen
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Temperature: -4 C to -1 C
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