Dr Rupert Pemsel (pictured), 32, avoided being struck off on Monday after having sex with a call-girl at a Southampton maternity hospital
'tribunal hears Porn-addicted anaesthetist, 32, is 'an excellent doctor'
Rupert Pemsel paid prostitute for sex between emergency caesareans
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The father of two young children admitted being addicted to pornography
He told a tribunal how he wanted to take his sexual obsession to next level
His wife Sheyi, 40, is said to be standing by him despite the incident
Tribunal decided striking him off would be 'depriving' public of good doctor
He told a tribunal how he wanted to take his sexual obsession to next level
His wife Sheyi, 40, is said to be standing by him despite the incident
Tribunal decided striking him off would be 'depriving' public of good doctor
A married doctor who paid for sex with a prostitute while on duty at a maternity hospital was told he could keep his job today.
Dr Rupert Pemsel, 32, spent 40 minutes in an on-call room in Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton with a 29-year-old woman.
The medic, whose wife is a GP, blamed the decision on an addiction to Internet pornography and stress from helping ill children in Uganda.
At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester, Pemsel’s barrister Edward Pleeth even proposed no action should be taken against the father-of-two because he is an ‘excellent doctor’.
But the tribunal instead decided to suspend trained pilot Pemsel from the medical register for ten months for the ‘sordid sexual encounter’.
His wife, Sheyi Pemsel, 40, is thought to have vowed to stand by her husband's side after he apologised to her.
Trainee anaesthetist Pemsel, from Winchester, stared straight ahead as tribunal chairwoman Lisa Smith told him: 'In the tribunal’s view, you have put your personal desires above your professional responsibilities.
'The tribunal considered the circumstances in which you brought an escort to the hospital premises where you engaged in a sordid sexual encounter whilst on duty.
'The tribunal considers that the suspension of your registration would mark the seriousness of your abhorrent behaviour. Indeed, it is of the view that public confidence in the profession would be seriously undermined if a lesser sanction were to be imposed.'
Clarifying why Pemsel wasn’t struck off, she added: 'The tribunal considered whether your conduct and behaviour warrant red a higher sanction, that of erasure.
'However, it has taken into account that you are committed to continuing to practice medicine and it would not benefit the public to be deprived of the services of a clinically good doctor.'
The hearing heard that Pemsel was due to begin a nightshift at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton on December 29 2013 when he decided to book escort Leanne Kennedy, 29.
In between helping with emergency caesareans, Pemsel - still in his hospital scrubs - let Kennedy into the hospital and took her to a private room where they had sex.
His wife, Sheyi Pemsel, is thought to be standing by her husband Rupert (pictured together at a wedding in 2009) despite him admitting he paid a prostitute for sex while on duty
He later told the tribunal that the fact the tryst took place in the hospital, ‘did not come into it’, at the time.
But his plan backfired when associates of the prostitute threatened to expose the romp if he didn’t pay up £10,000.
Fearing for the safety of himself, his pregnant wife Sheyi, 40, and their son, he came clean about his sordid escapades and reported the threats to the police.
The trainee anaesthetist smuggled prostitute Leanne Davies (pictured) into the Princess Anne Hospital
The family were moved from their home in Compton, Winchester, and Pemsel went with cops to a Hilton hotel in Basingstoke to set up a sting on the blackmailers.
But over three days holed up, Pemsel showed the officers photographs of a patient’s radiograph on his iPhone which depicted a bottle up the man’s rectum.
Concerned, one of the officers informed his superior who later took the decision to report Pemsel to the General Medical Council.
He later tried to claim he took the photo because of its ‘clinical interest’, but the tribunal ruled that Pemsel had only stored the image for his own amusement.
On behalf of Pemsel, Mr Pleeth said Pemsel would have to start his training again if he were to receive any suspension.
'Suspension would be devastating for Dr Pemsel and the public would be disadvantaged by the loss of a highly competent doctor,' he said.
Following the incident, Pemsel resigned from the Princess Anne Hospital and later took up a post as a locum at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
He is set to resume his post when he completes his suspension period.
Kennedy, also known as Leanne Davies, and a younger man were arrested and pleaded guilty to blackmail in July 2014.
Kennedy avoided jail after receiving a two-year suspended sentence but the man, who cannot be named, was jailed for 42 months.
Earlier trying to justify his behaviour, Pemsel said financial difficulties, two minor car accidents and medical work helping children in Uganda contributed to his state of mind at the time of the incident.
But the main factor was his growing addiction to Internet porn and desire to take it to the next level.
He said: “I have reflected about the impact this has had on my family, my extremely supportive wife, my colleagues at the hospital I was working at at the time, the Deanery... And they are aware of my deepest regret at the impact this has had on them.
I am extremely regretful about the impact this has had on the profession and about the issues of confidentiality and misconduct.
'I would like to apologise one last time to everybody involved.'
When asked to comment after the hearing, he added: 'Politely - no.'
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