Surgeon admits launching sex attack on student nurse on bus

Dundee Sheriff: Sandeep Patonde admitted attacking nurse.

A surgeon launched a sex attack on a student nurse on a bus in the grounds of a hospital.

Sandeep Patonde attacked the woman on the number 5 bus between Dundee city centre and Ninewells Hospital last September.

The orthapaedic surgeon sat down beside her, telling her he was a doctor who specialises in bones, then asked her for her name and mobile number.

But when she told him she did not own a mobile phone married Patonde asked her: "You're scared of me, aren't you."

He then launched the sex attack, grabbing her top and trying to look down it before putting his hands on the terrified nurse's thighs.

A sheriff told Patonde on Wednesday he faced jail and accused him of "trying to buy his way out of custody" after he turned up with £2000 in his pocket in an attempt to compensate his victim.

Fiscal depute Donna Davidson told Dundee Sheriff Court that Patonde put his left arm around the woman’s shoulder prompting her to grab him and tell him to leave her alone.

The prosecutor said: "The complainer felt very intimidated. She tried to stand up and get away from the accused however he blocked her path by sticking his arm out. The complainer repeatedly told him to move his arm but he refused and she sat back down. He asked her if she had a boyfriend and asked if he scared her.

"With no warning he then grabbed hold of the complainer's top and tried to look down towards her breasts. She tried to stop him. He then started feeling her legs and put his hands on her knees, feeling up her thighs. The complainer kept hitting his hands in an effort to stop him but he did this several times before he stopped."

Patonde, who had arrived in Scotland just weeks earlier to take a University of Dundee course to enhance his surgery skills, then got off the bus along with the nurse and followed her through the grounds of the hospital.

He grabbed her and called her an "idiot" before continuing to chase her until she got near the staff residences.

Police detained Patonde two days later but he told them: "I have not done any such thing, this is not correct."

Patonde, 33, of Lister Court, Dundee, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman to her injury on September 30 last year.

Paddy O'Dea, defending, said Patonde's student visa would be terminated as he had now been convicted of the offence.

He said: "He normally resides in Mumbai where his wife works as a doctor. He is very guilty and shameful for what he has done. He would like to give as much money as possible in compensation to the woman. The course he was attending had a fee paid by him of £13,950. He will now be expelled by the university and that fee will not be refunded."

Sheriff Alistair Duff said the attack was "far too serious" to be dealt with by a fine and that Patonde posed a "flight risk".

He ordered background reports and remanded Patonde in custody ahead of sentencing next month.

He said: "The notion that you could commit this crime and then come here today with £2000 expecting to buy your way out of custody is an offence to the criminal justice system."

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