West Berkshire GP indecently assaulted child repeatedly
It happened in the 1970s and 80s while the victim was aged between 8 and 14.
Last updated 20th Oct 2023
A trial of facts at Reading Crown court has found a former doctor from west Berkshire indecently assaulted a boy repeatedly in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dr Robin Borthwick from Bradfield near Reading, who is now 78, carried out the assaults on one person, who was a child at the time the offences took place.
He was declared unfit to take part in a criminal trial so a trial of facts to find out if the offences were committed took place.
During the trial Father Peter Bowe, a monk at Douai Abbey in Woolhampton, told the jury at Reading Crown Court that after a mass in February 2022, Borthwick asked to speak to him and confessed he had “touched a boy”.
Charles Ward-Jackson, prosecuting, previously told the jury the complainant was aged between nine and about 13 or 14 when he was “regularly abused” by Borthwick, who was a local GP in West Berkshire.
Daniel O’Donoghue, defending, suggested to the jury there was “ample scope for misunderstanding” in relation to Father Bowe’s evidence, saying he could have asked Borthwick leading questions due to his speech difficulties at the time.
Speaking to the jury, Mr O’Donoghue said the prosecution’s evidence was “insufficient to satisfy you to that very high standard that you can be sure”.
Jurors found Borthwick indecently assaulted the complainant at a surgery and in two other locations.
Judge Neil Millard said the only possible disposal for the case was an absolute discharge.
The victim told us he feels 'vindicated' and 'relieved' that the truth is now out there.
He has spoken to us about what happened and how his life has been affected by it.
Grooming
"He would buy me lots of sweets and gifts, he would take me and my grandmother out on lots of day trips to London, to the zoo, to Bekonscott model village - he was grooming me essentially"
Abuse at the surgery
"He would typically find a reason to take me to his GP surgery for example he had a brand new audi car and he took me for a ride he'd take me there on the pretext of collecting some prescription tablets for my mother for example and the abuse would take place there and then, I think in the dispensary he would draw the blinds and the abuse would take place there and then - quite brazenly."
Didn't recognise what was happening
"I was an 8-year-old child, he was not just an adult but a doctor, a larger-than-life character if you like, the power differential was immense, and the silence was implied initially and thereafter instructed. I remember falling asleep in my grandmother's spare room afterwards clutching my teddy and crying, and that's a lot for an eight-year-old to take on."
Breaking the silence
"As the years went by, I recognised it as sexual abuse, but I still felt silenced I still felt I couldn't tell anyone and that went on for 33 years and it was only then when I was suffering from depression, I went to see a counsellor and I felt able to talk, she encouraged me to talk, it was an incredibly painful experience."
Suicidal thoughts
"For as long as I can remember I've suffered with suicidal thoughts I struggled with alcohol with prescription drugs I couldn't quite understand where these problems were coming from until I was unable to unpick the root cause and that led straight back to that period of abuse."
Truth
"My driver in all of this is not to see the man sent to prison it's for the truth to come out. And if that enables someone else who's been trapped within a similar cycle of child sex abuse, if it enables them to come forward and to speak out then that for me is a fantastic result."
Deserve to know
"This is a man who portrayed himself as a pillar of the community, upstanding popular GP, church going family man - he was hiding a deep dark terrible secret he was a predatory paedophile. I think everyone in his community, his patients, any parents of any children who they took to see him over the years deserve to know what type of man he is.
"He said that he thought I would enjoy it I put it to you any right-thinking individual, an eight year old boy - we're talking about a GP who has seen hundreds if not thousands of patients, of young children, performed intimate examinations what would those people be thinking knowing that their GP was of that mindset. I think it is chilling and it is repugnant."
Message
"My message to anyone who has been through something similar would be to talk, to find someone who you are comfortable to talk to, whether that's a schoolteacher, a friend, a friend of the family, someone in your family, a police officer, someone at school but just to talk because then the healing process can start."
Police response
"They (Thames Valley Police) have been fantastic from day one, I've felt believed supported, communication has been top notch, and it's been a long process, but historic sex abuse cases are complex."
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Joanna Williams said:
“I’m pleased that the truth is now out that Dr Robin Borthwick indecently assaulted a boy over a prolonged period during the 1970s and 1980s.
“The victim has shown incredible courage during the investigation and trial, during which he had to recount the most traumatic moments of his life when he was indecently assaulted by Borthwick. He has also bravery by telling his truth to the public in order to give encouragement to other victims of sexual offences to have their voices heard.”