‘He had been attempting to engage her in a form of sexual activity – by her ingesting his semen’
A doctor sexually assaulted a woman by depositing his semen into cups of coffee he made for her on multiple occasions, a court has been told.
Dr Nicholas John Chapman is accused of two counts of attempting to cause a woman, aged 16 or over, to engage in sexual activity without her consent.
Gloucester Crown Court heard the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was shocked after discovering a “gloopy” substance at the bottom of her cup when she finished a hot drink given to her by the defendant.
After she found suspicious “specimens”, she reported him to police and a laboratory test later confirmed the substance was “semen that related to the doctor”.
The 55-year-old GP was arrested when he turned up to work and suspended from his post at a health centre in Somerset, when the allegations came to light.
Opening the case, prosecution barrister Richard Posner said in September 2021 the alleged victim “became concerned there might be something not right about the hot drinks” the defendant was making for her.
“(She) had good reason to be suspicious because there was a substance in her coffee that had no business being there at all,” he told the court.
“The defendant’s semen had been added to the drinks that the prosecution say he had been making for her.
“By adding semen to coffee, he had been attempting to engage her in a form of sexual activity – by her ingesting his semen.”
The prosecution said the alleged victim started to notice something strange about her coffee at the end of 2020 – but had no idea what it was for nearly a year.
Posner added: “She took a sip of her drink and spat it out into the sink. It didn’t taste right. It tasted salty. She tipped the remainder into the sink and saw a thick, gloopy substance go into the sink.
“She just knew it was something that shouldn’t have been there. She did not for a moment think it could have been semen.”
The court heard she didn’t think much more of it, but told others her drink tasted funny and would tip away other drinks he made for her during that time.
The woman believes it happened on around six or seven other occasions.
Her suspicions were raised in September 2021, when she noticed a plastic specimen in Chapman’s possession that had “no business being there”.
The woman shared her concerns and “realised the reality” of what had been happening, Posner told the court.
He said she then waited until another drink was made for her the following week and noticed in his trouser pocket what looked like one of his specimen bottles.
Posner said: “This immediately raised suspicion. She collected the coffee and tipped it down a sink and noticed a slimy trail.
“Some of the substance was retrieved and put into specimen pots and photos were taken of the gloopy substance at the bottom of the mug.”
Samples were also put in the freezer before being given to police.
Analysis of the coffee on 13 September 2021 found semen and DNA provided a match to the defendant.
Chapman was arrested at his surgery as he arrived to work and during an interview said he was “shocked” and denied putting semen into her coffee.
Chapman later claimed that due to a condition, he has managed since a teen, he lets out semen while defecating and that some “residue” might have remained on his hands.
Posner said the defendant accepted he had “masturbated in toilets”, but was “not sexually gratifying himself over the victim and he may not have washed his hands.”
But he added: “The prosecution case is he did not have a reasonable explanation for his semen being in her drinks.”
The two charges are that on 13 September 2021 and between 12 September 2020 and 12 September 2021 he attempted to engage in sexual activity without consent by making her ingest his semen.
Defence, barrister Virginia Cornwall told the court her defendant did not have any sexual interest in the victim.
She added: “He did not behave inappropriately at any time and did not exclusively make coffee for her.
“He did not make coffee on 13 September and denies putting anything into her coffee at any time and does not know who did so.
“He did not tamper with her coffee – and can only assume someone else did as a prank.
“While a sample of coffee collected from 13 September contained his biological fluid, he has underlying medical condition where semen will discharge when opening his bowels.”
She said the semen was a “by-product of defecation and not sexual in nature.”
Chapman was born in South Africa, where he qualified as a doctor at the University of Cape Town in 1993.
The trial continues.
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