Fake doctor convicted of sexual assault

13/06/2012

A man who falsely claimed to be a doctor, telling some patients they were seriously ill, has been convicted of a string of fraud and sexual assault offences.

51 year old Antonio Gobbato was convicted after trial at Inner London Crown Court of five counts of sexual assault, two counts of attempted fraud and one count of fraud.

CPS London Special Casework lawyer Damaris Lakin said:

"Antonio Gobbato posed as someone in a position of trust. He targeted vulnerable women and he exploited their health fears.   

"Gobbato also falsely told parents that their children were seriously ill just so that he could go on an all expenses paid trip abroad.

"I hope that todays conviction offers some comfort to the numerous victims of his crimes."

Antonio Gobbato claimed to have qualified in Portugal as a complimentary medicine practitioner.  He saw clients, mainly Portuguese or Brazilian, for a range of ailments at a clinic he set up in Pinner, Harrow.

Between August 2009 and June 2010 he practised from various premises across London and, under the guise of performing medical examinations, he sexually assaulted women by touching their breasts or groin. For most of the medical complaints his patients presented with the examinations he performed were wholly inappropriate and unnecessary. For this he was charged with seven counts of sexual assault against six women.

Gobbato would convince the patients that he was a general practitioner and frequently claim to offer diagnosis. Gobbato would take a finger prick sample of blood, look at it under a microscope and claim that from that alone he could diagnose illnesses such as anaemia, polycystic ovaries and even breast cancer.

In further offences for which Gobbato was convicted of two counts of attempted fraud and one count of fraud, he told parents that their children were seriously ill and that they required urgent medical treatment at a hospital in Italy. In the first case the family went to Italy alone only to be told their daughter had a treatable infection. In the second case the family sought NHS advice and were told their son would simply need to be monitored.

However in the third case Gobbato convinced a family to take their daughter to Italy for treatment for depression and successfully got them to pay for his flights, accommodation and food during the trip.

Gobbato will be sentenced on 13 July 2012.