A renowned therapeutic doctor ‘masturbated male teenage patients’ and asked them for ‘sperm samples’, a court has heard.
Professor Ariel Lant, 81, allegedly molested four men and six teenagers while treating them at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Fulham Road, between 1978 and 1994.
Twin boys, 12, face being 'kicked out' of school after taking time off when dad died
The professor of therapeutics denies all charges against him Southwark Crown Court, branding them ‘ridiculous’ and a ‘conspiracy against him.’
Alison Hunter, prosecuting, said: ‘Professor Ariel Lant was a prominent and renowned professor of therapeutics and a consultant physician. He accepted both private and national health referrals.
‘They had been referred to Professor Lant by their GP’s with a variety of conditions – ranging from suspected ME, a chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, depression, diabetes, Addison’s disease and thrombosis in the arm pit.
‘All of the complainants that have come forward describe prolonged sexual examinations leading in all but two examinations, to Professor Lant saying he required semen samples for them.’
She added: ‘In order to obtain those samples, he would offer that he would either fully masturbate them or begin the masturbation for them allowing them to take over – almost teaching in the case of the younger patients how to masturbate themselves.
Woman slit her pet dog's throat after night out drinking
‘Or otherwise by them masturbating at close proximity or presence to him, even with him holding testicles of one of the patients to help them ejaculate.’
Professor Lant was arrested on May 23, 2014, after a former patient claimed that he had been abused when he was a child between the years of 1977 and 1981.
The prosecutor said: ‘Shortly after his complaint began to be investigated by police in London, another victim, totally coincidentally, came forward and made a complaint to Dover and Cornwall Police.
‘His conduct amounts to an indecent assault. He spoke to them in a soft voice, talking to them about their sexuality and what they found attractive while in some cases caressing their genitals.’
Three other patients of Professor Lant had made separate complaints of indecent assault, in 1995, 1996 and 1998.
Mother 'killed son saying she would rather him be dead than lose him'
Five complainants came forward during the police investigation due to increased press attention around historical sex abuse.
The prosecutor said some of the alleged victims noticed Professor Lant becoming ‘red-faced’ and getting a ‘light sweat’ during the so-called examinations.
She said: ‘There was no real medical justification for all of them, or at least no justification for them to be performed on some of the younger patients.’
She added: ‘The fundamental patient doctor trust had been breached resulting in typical patient-type confusion. While they felt violated, embarrassed, shocked, alarmed, some were stunned into disbelief that it had happened at all.’
The professor gave a prepared statement denying all the allegations to police officers.
Miss Hunter said: ‘He described his consultations as a one stop shop. He couldn’t recall specifically the appointments, but there were some occasions when he required a sperm sample.
‘He agreed patients would provide a sample from the couch, but he would always leave the room to offer privacy and he thought nothing of it.’
Professor Lant, of Curzon Avenue, Middlesex, denies 11 counts of indecent assault against a male person.
The trial continues.
[contf] [contfnew] 
METRO
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
