Blyth & Bawtry: Former doctor jailed for string of sexual assaults on patients

A former doctor has been jailed for nearly 12 years after being convicted of sexually assaulting nine patients over three decades.
Former doctor Andrew Johnson has been jailed for a series of sexual assaultsFormer doctor Andrew Johnson has been jailed for a series of sexual assaults
Former doctor Andrew Johnson has been jailed for a series of sexual assaults

Andrew Johnson, 62, of Station Road, Bawtry, was found guilty of 15 offences of indecent assault and sexual assault following a seven-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

The offences were committed against women and girls aged as young as 14, between 1979 and 2006.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The offences took place at the surgery where he was based as a GP in Station Road in Bawtry and Main Street in Blyth.

He was jailed for five years for those offences on 2nd April, but had his sentence increased to nine years at the Court of Appeal on 19th June.

Johnson sexually abused a teenage girl, who was not a patient at his surgery, over a three-year period between 1990 and 1993.

The victim was aged between 14 and 16 when the abuse took place.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He pleaded guilty to that offence at Sheffield Crown Court and was sentenced to a further two years eight months, to run consecutively.

He was also added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

The police investigation into Johnson began in 2010 when a female patient reported she had been sexually assaulted by him in the past.

Johnson, who was a partner at Bawtry and Blyth Medical Practises, was struck off by the General Medical Council prior to a police investigation beginning.

As the investigation progressed officers identified further victims, who all stated that they had been indecently or sexually assaulted by Johnson while they were his patients at the surgery.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The first reported assault dated back to 1979 and the last was in 2006 and involved women and girls aged between 14 and 49.

All his victims had visited Johnson with minor ailments or for routine examinations, they were then subjected to indecent or sexual assaults.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Whittaker said: “The victims in this case have shown tremendous courage coming forward and I would like to praise them for their bravery.”

“I would also like to commend the victims and families for how they have conducted themselves throughout what was a lengthy and arduous trial.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Johnson denied his crimes throughout the investigation and forced his victims to relive their ordeal, which must have been incredibly hard for them.”

“Johnson’s crimes are inexcusable. He abused his position as a doctor by taking advantage of the trust his patients had given him, in my opinion, this is the ultimate betrayal of trust.”

“This man subjected his patients to sexual assaults for his own perverse satisfaction.”

“He has shown no remorse towards any of his victims, which again shows the arrogance of the man.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I hope that the sentencing will provide some form of closure to Johnson’s victims, many of whom have been living with what he did to them for almost 40 years - this shows that you cannot hide from justice forever,”

South Yorkshire Police will do everything within its powers to bring sex offenders to justice, no matter how historic the offences may be.”