An eminent former paediatrician has been found guilty of carrying out a string of sexual assaults at a hospital at the same time as the disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile was sexually abusing young patients there.
Michael Salmon, 80, assaulted six girls aged 11-18 in the 1970s and 80s while he worked at Stoke Mandeville, where Savile preyed on victims, and other hospitals. He carried out many of his attacks behind a screen in his consulting room, while his victim’s parents waited believing he was completing a legitimate medical examination.
Salmon was also convicted of raping a girl on two occasions at his home after she turned to him for help because she was pregnant.
The prosecution made it clear there was no suggestion that Salmon, of Salisbury, Wiltshire, acted in concert with Savile but the case has once again shone a spotlight on what was going on at the hospital in Buckinghamshire at the time the television personality spent time there.
A report on Savile’s activities at the hospital is due out within weeks. The children’s charity the NPSCC said it was a “chilling coincidence” that the two men were abusing girls at the same hospital at the same time.
Salmon gave no reaction as he was found guilty of nine indecent assaults and two rapes. He faces a lengthy jail term.
Reading crown court w as told he thought he was “bomb-proof” because no one would believe a child over him. The court heard Salmon had already been struck off the medical register after he admitted three counts of indecent assault against young female patients in 1991.
Salmon, who was once praised by Princess Diana for his work with disabled children, was arrested by officers from Operation Yewtree – the investigation launched into Savile – after victims came forward following publicity about the late DJ.
It is understood that more women have come forward during the trial to say they were also abused by Salmon at Stoke Mandeville.
Salmon raped one 16-year-old girl after she turned to him for help because she was pregnant. She had met him the previous year when he treated her for a digestive problem. She said he used to take her behind a curtain and – with her mother still in the same room – carry out intimate examinations not wearing gloves.
The victim told the court: “I look back and say, ‘What on earth was going on?’ When I was that young, I didn’t question it. I just thought it was a proper procedure because he was a doctor. My mother was in the room. I was just 14 or 15. You believe it is right.”
Later, believing she was pregnant by a neighbour, she sought help from Salmon. He told her she was indeed pregnant and took her to his home. She told the court he produced an instrument like a tube which he said would suck out the foetus.
She said: “I don’t remember much - I just closed my eyes until it was over.” She went into the bathroom and cleaned herself up, jurors heard. He then told her to lie on the bed, said “one favour deserves another” and raped her. She said she had screamed “No!” as he attacked her.
A couple of weeks later he rang and said she may have been going to have twins and persuaded her to come to his house again. She said he performed the same procedure again and tried to rape her but this time she managed to fight him off. “I had more energy this time,” she told the court. She said he dropped her off at home and told her that nobody would believe her if she reported what he had done. The jury found Salmon guilty of the two rapes but cleared him of carrying out illegal abortions.
The defendant was arrested in November 2013 and described allegations against him as “absolute nonsense”, claiming the accusers were “gold diggers”. But the jury heard he had already been jailed for three years and struck off the medical register for indecent assaults on three girls aged 12-16. The offences came to light in 1987 when police searched his office over alleged fraud offences and found love letters from very young female patients.
DS Malcolm Wheeler, from the child abuse investigation unit at Thames Valley police, said: “Salmon was a prolific sexual offender who abused his position of power in order for his own sexual gratification. As a consultant paediatrician, he preyed on young girls who had been referred to him for a variety of health issues. They trusted him, they believed him, because he was a doctor and they thought he was trustworthy.
“On a number of occasions, he carried out unnecessary internal examinations on young girls. Although they felt uncomfortable at this, they didn’t feel able to tell anyone because they believed the examinations must have been necessary. Some of the offences were committed while the child’s parent was just outside the room.”
Prolific child abuser Savile is believed to have carried out some of his worst offending at Stoke Mandeville, where he had his own office after setting up the Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust charity in 1981.
While Salmon has insisted he did not know Savile, his son Martin appeared on the presenter’s Jim’ll Fix It show, and Salmon had a still from the programme on the wall of his office at the hospital.
Salmon specialised in children’s growth disorders and neurological problems, but since his earlier jail sentence he has focused on another interest – butterfly collecting – and has had books published on the subject.
Judge Johanna Cutts QC remanded Salmon in custody until sentencing next week. His wife, Susie, who has stood by him throughout proceedings, sobbed as he was taken down to the cells.