A married surgeon who had an affair with a ‘vulnerable’ patient almost half his age manipulated her like Mick Philpott, a medical tribunal heard.
Dr Jonathan Beacon, 66, allegedly bombarded the woman with flirtatious texts, had sex with her in country lanes in his Jaguar sports car and spent nights with her in luxurious hotels.
But he used controlling techniques to keep her interested in him during the 19-month relationship, it was claimed.
She said he would flatter, text and phone her and lead her on before ‘pulling the rug’ from under her feet.
The tribunal heard that in one phone call Dr Beacon, a respected consultant orthopaedic surgeon, told the 39-year-old woman he dreamed about her breasts.
At the General Medical Council hearing, the married mother of one said the surgeon was manipulative and controlling and that he reminded her of child-killer Philpott, who used fear to control and dominate women.
She said: ‘I feel utterly disgusted – if I could eradicate it [the affair] I would. I had really low self-esteem and he was a controlling man. I couldn’t work out if he loved women or hated them. It reminded me of Philpott and how he treated women.’
The patient first went to Dr
Beacon in November 2005 for private treatment on her knee, which she injured in a motorcycle crash, and said she found him approachable.
But in October 2006, when she no longer had the money to continue private treatment due to her divorce, the surgeon allegedly told her he would waive his fees.
The hearing heard that Dr Beacon began to take more interest in her private life and they exchanged phone numbers. The woman – referred to as Patient A – said she had been at a low ebb due to her divorce and was vulnerable.
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Ben Fitzgerald, representing the GMC, said that by Christmas 2006 she was receiving frequent calls and text messages that were ‘increasingly sexual’. Dr Beacon, a father of three, is said to have phoned several times during the Christmas period asking what she was wearing. The patient added: ‘I obviously understood it had gone up to a different level. Half of me recoiled in disgust, the other half there was a rapport. I was flattered that someone showed an interest in me.’
The woman said that before consultations regarding her knee they would have lunch and kiss.
She said: ‘It led to further interaction, kissing, touching led by him. We had conversations on how affairs were conducted and said they were based on lies. He said, “I can become a nuisance and a pest”.’
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The relationship became sexual with the pair cavorting in his silver Jaguar sports car.
The patient said: ‘We did what you can in a car discreetly. Then he left me there. I felt horrendous. I think I cried. I was stunned by what had happened. He pulled the rug from under me.’
They later had sex on ‘rural, private land’ and spent nights together in hotels.
She said: ‘He would ask if he could still call me. I said, “No”. I unplugged my phone.’
Patient A said she tried to end the affair in May 2007 but they had sex again when she visited his clinic to get her cast changed.
She added that they split in July 2008.
The woman had further surgery in January 2011, and due to her 'emotional turmoil' was referred to a psychiatrist whom she told of the affair.
Dr Beacon, of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was not at the hearing and is not represented.The case continues.