A Harley Street doctor with an unblemished 50-year record of patient care has told how his reputation is in tatters after one of his employees falsely accused him of sexual assault.
Dr John Keet, 80, was publicly marched out of his consulting rooms, frisked and locked in a cell after he was accused of inappropriately touching the woman.
The grandfather-of-six faced a three-year nightmare before he was unanimously cleared last month at Southwark Crown Court in London. He had to take out a six-figure loan to meet his legal costs.
Devout Catholic Dr Keet, who also works in the NHS, said: ‘It is unfair my name will be linked on the internet with base accusations, though I will apply to have this erased.
‘Meanwhile, an accuser can carry on with complete, lifelong anony-mity targeting the low hanging fruit of professionals who are especially vulnerable because they practise from a position of trust.’
He said the woman made her claims in a 999 call ten days after she left, demanding a severance fee for 14 days ad hoc work in 2021.
Dr Keet, a specialist in care for the elderly, said: ‘Police swooped in the middle of my practice, among colleagues and patients.
‘I was dragged off by three or four officers, thrown in a cell and interviewed for hours. It was traumatic.’
Dr John Keet (pictured) was publicly marched out of his consulting rooms, frisked and locked in a cell after he was accused of inappropriately touching the woman
The grandfather-of-six faced a three-year nightmare before he was unanimously cleared last month at Southwark Crown Court in London
He had hired the younger woman to assist his two office stalwarts, his PA, 85, and 71-year old secretary.
He said he came into contact with her twice, accidentally touching heads as they rose while working at a desk, then steadying her after she climbed on a table to open a window.
The jury accepted his account of these incidents. The other six allegations which made up the eight charges of sexual assault he faced were, he says, ‘phantom’ claims.
He was only charged almost a year after his arrest in January 2022.
‘Thankfully when this finally got to court justice prevailed but the impact’s been significant,’ he said.
‘The allegations were on the internet for my patients to read. I had to report myself to my medical regulatory body and I withdrew from reading and serving in church to avoid embarrassing parishioners.’
Born in a Japanese prisoner-of- war camp in Shanghai, where his parents were interned, he has lived in London since the 1970s and travels widely treating NHS patients.
He said: ‘I became a doctor and work in the NHS because I have always felt I was living a borrowed life after being born a PoW.
‘I wanted to do good in the world and that still drives me. I’m an honourable gentleman and glad that ultimately a jury believed me.’
