Gravesend physiotherapist jailed for sexual assault during sessions

A physiotherapist was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing seven women during his treatment sessions.

Purnoor Bawa, 43, from Gravesend, Kent, touched the women inappropriately between 2013 and 2018, Kent Police said.

Bawa was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday and sentenced to six years in prison.

“He continued to commit crimes even after concerns were raised about his behaviour,” a police spokesman said.

“At every opportunity, he persuaded his victims to remove their clothing so he could touch areas of their bodies that did not require treatment, insisting that this was common practice and part of their recovery,” the spokesman added.

In December 2018, officers were called to Bawa’s workplace in Gravesend after reports emerged that he had performed an “inappropriate” massage on a woman while treating an ankle injury.

His conduct is already being monitored by the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service and he should not have been allowed to work without a supervisor, police said.

The tribunal later banned him from practicing his profession.

Det Con Peter Hylands said: “Purnoor Bawa manipulated and persuaded his victims to believe his actions were justified when in reality he was exploiting them for his own depraved purposes.

“Each crime was committed in the privacy of Bawa’s treatment room, where there were no independent witnesses, surveillance cameras or other evidence.

“He has shown that he is not only unsuitable to work as a physiotherapist, but that he also poses a danger to women and belongs behind bars.”