A top plastic surgeon, whose clinic specialises in breast enlargements and liposuction, has been cleared by a jury of fondling a female job applicant and a patient during one-on-one meetings at his private surgery.
Jahangir Taghipour, 61, who founded Doctors Makeover in 2000 and is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England had been accused of repeatedly stroking the women and talking about his sex life.
Taghipour, of Uxbridge Road, Pinner, North-West London had pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault on March 22 and September 21, last year at the clinic in Marsh Road, Pinner.
Prosecutor Mr. Daniel Fugallo told Harrow Crown Court the first victim was a job applicant interviewed by married Dr. Taghipour (pictured).
"He stroked her arm, stroked her face, told her he was still sexually active and rubbed his crotch," said the prosecutor.
He also kissed the woman on the cheek leaving her "feeling shaken and very confused."
The victim drove home and called the police, but officers took no further action.
The second victim, a regular patient, was receiving a chemical facial peel from the doctor.
"In the course of administering that treatment the defendant's behaviour was inappropriate," Mr. Fugallo told the jury.
"He stroked her arm and held her hand, rubbed her neck and told her she was beautiful and asked if she had a boyfriend."
The doctor then ordered the woman to remove her jumper.
"He moved his hand under the T-shirt to touch the area of her chest under her right arm.
"When the defendant started to stroke her inner thigh she protested and he claimed she misunderstood him and he was married."
She returned the following day because her face was discoloured. "The defendant gave her little reassurance.
"It culminated in the defendant losing his temper and telling her to get out."
The victim later received a threatening letter from Dr. Taghipour.
"He was critical of her conduct in the surgery and threatened to call the police if she returned."
But defence barrister Isabella Forghall suggested the patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, may have been unhappy with the procedure and “so furious about her treatment that she embroidered what happened into an allegation of sexual assault”.
The defendant told jurors the woman came back the following day and confronted him angrily, saying: “Just touch me, see what I can do. Just touch me. I have sent my husband to prison, I'll send you to prison.”
The woman is pursuing separate action in relationship to the treatment and Miss Forghall claimed the sexual assault allegation was made up to supplement it.
Miss Forghall claimed the jobseeker’s evidence was unreliable but did not accuse her of malice and said it was not unexpected that Mr Taghipour would face two separate false allegations.
The lawyer told jurors: “Mr Taghipour is a doctor, 85 per cent of his patients are women.
“He's dealing with his clients in relation to intimate, personal concerns in which their self esteem is deeply involved, you may think.
“Probably some of these clients are normal members of the public with a lump that they may want sorted out. Many of his clients have issues with confidence.
“You may think that at least some of the women who come back and back for surgical operations to their appearances are bound to be people who with the greatest respect to them are a bit unhappy with life, neurotic maybe.”
Dr. Taghipour is a former employee of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and is also a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and a member of the Panel of Intercollegiate Examiners at the Royal College of Surgeons.
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