A ‘highly-respected’ doctor who sexually abused female patients from the Orthodox Jewish community has been jailed for eight years.
Dr Wayne Sefton Davis, a GP in Salford, carried out the assaults against two ‘naive’ women as part of invasive examinations in the 1990s and 2000s.
The 67-year-old was found unanimously guilty at Manchester Crown Court on Monday of committing the crimes over a 15-year period.
It comes after a probe had been launched in May 2020 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in GMP’s Salford district as two women came forward.
In May 2020, one of the females disclosed she had attended an appointment with Davis 14 years ago. She explained he had sexually assaulted her during a medical examination as he told her ‘he needed to teach her how to pleasure her husband’.
Davis was subsequently arrested on suspicion of sexual assault before another victim came forward to disclose a similar experience.
The woman told officers she had attended the practice and Davis performed a routine medical examination before sexually assaulting her to check if she was ‘a virgin’.
Vanessa Thomson, prosecuting, explained the victims were from the Orthodox Jewish community and ‘not brought up learning about sex and sexual behaviours at school as might be expected in secular society’.
Dr Wayne Sefton Davis pictured in February 2015. A ‘highly-respected’ doctor who sexually abused female patients from the Orthodox Jewish community has been jailed for eight years
Dr Wayne Sefton Davis, a GP in Salford, carried out the assaults against two ‘naive’ women during invasive examinations in the 1990s and 2000s
They had limited knowledge and put their complete trust in a respected man they had been told ‘knew best’, which provided ‘fertile ground’ for Dr Davis to abuse each of them, she said.
In brief mitigation, Sarah Elliott KC re-iterated Dr Davis was highly respected in the community. She added he had been in custody for over a year since the convictions, Manchester Evening News reports.
Nevertheless, Davis, of Old Hall Road, Salford, was jailed for eight years and put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Detective Sergeant Charlotte Sullivan of GMP’s City of Salford district, said: ‘Firstly, I would like to commend the victims and survivors for how they have so bravely come forward to speak of their experiences and also for their continued support during our investigation and through the trial. This was a long and distressing process for them to endure.
‘I would also like to thank our partner agencies in Salford who supported the victims and assisted our investigation which helped put Wayne Davis behind bars. Davis’ actions are truly horrific and shocking, he was in a position of power and used this for his own sexual gratification.
‘His actions showcase a complete abuse of trust and power. He took advantage of the women in a time when they needed reassurance. He knowingly did not follow the guidance of the GP’s chaperone policy and sexually assaulted lone women in his place of work with no regard for their wellbeing whatsoever, they were seeking his advice as a medical professional for personal and private matters.
‘We understand how much concern will be felt in the local community and across Greater Manchester and we would like to take this as an opportunity to assure members of the public that incidents like these are extremely rare. We continue to work closely with medical practises and the local trusts, staff, the local authority, and support organisations to ensure that patients feel safe and supported.
Dr Wayne Davis appears at Manchester Crown court in November 2023 charged with two counts of sexual assault
Dr Wayne Davis, 67, of Salford, pictured outside Manchester Crown Court where he had been on trial for five sexual offence charges
‘This case demonstrates the seriousness with which we deal with any reports of sexual assaults or inappropriate behaviour. No matter when it happened or where it took place, we will investigate, we will support you and we will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.’
News of the conviction comes as the two women, of the Chassidic orthodox Jewish community, had initially stayed silent about the abuse for fear of being ostracised.
The first woman – Woman A – was newly married and recently moved up to the north west.
She followed the tradition of her community in respecting the advice of rabbis who gave clear rules about dating and she later described herself as ‘naive’ before getting married to her husband in the 2000s.
Woman A was urged to visit a doctor after after experiencing pain in her genitalia but ended up going alone as nobody was available to accompany her.
During Davis’ trial in 2023, the patient alleged Davis made a ‘highly inappropriate comment’, before using his fingers to allegedly ‘stretch’ her vagina.
Jurors were told that a gynaecologist described the practice of ‘stretching’ as a ‘bizarre concept with no grounding in gynaecological practice’.
After details of Dr Davis’ arrest were published in the press, Woman B came forward to also recount details of her abuse in the 1990s.
Pictured: Manchester Crown Court. Davis had previously said at court he was aware there were ‘rumours about him’ from within the Orthodox Jewish community
The patient had got married in the 1990s but did not have ‘marriage preparation lessons’ prior to her wedding night, later saying it came as a ‘bit of a shock’ to her.
Davis told her to remove her lower clothing before ‘examining her’. He then offered to check if she was still a “bethulah”. She later learned this was the Hebrew word for “virgin”.
The woman said David inserted his finger into her vagina and she had felt ‘uncomfortable’ but trusted him.
She explained she felt embarrassed and humiliated, and said it had affected her relationship with her husband.
Years later she confided in her daughter, a midwife, who confirmed her fears that the examination was not necessary.
Meanwhile Woman A described how her experience had ‘haunted’ her.
Davis had previously said at court he was aware there were ‘rumours about him’ from within the Orthodox Jewish community.
In an interview he was asked about the medical notes and claimed ‘stretching’ the vagina was a ‘reasonable thing to do when a female was having problems with intimacy’.
