A former university doctor has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two young male students in his campus surgery.
David Allan Buchan, known as Allan Buchan, was a founder partner of the Aithrey Park medical practice at the University of Stirling, where he molested the 20-year-old undergraduates between 1995 and 1998.
The verdicts, at Stirling Sheriff Court last week, came after a three-day trial during which jurors heard Buchan touched and “caressed” young males’ their private parts and inner thighs when they came to see him for unrelated complaints.
Serial offender Buchan was struck off in 2002 and jailed for 30 months in 2001 after being found guilty of five sexual assaults on three other young male students at the university around the same time in almost identical circumstances.
He was cleared of similar charges in 2019.
Sheriff John MacRitchie remanded him in custody for pre-sentencing reports and told him the earlier conviction was “a huge aggravation” in terms of the sentence he could expect.
‘Liked intimate physical contact’
The court heard evidence from five men who were students at the university in the 90s – some teenagers in their first year – who said they had gone to Buchan with knee pain, shoulder pain, sinusitis, sore throats and a footballing injury.
All ended up receiving intimate examinations they had not requested.
Buchan rarely used gloves because, the prosecution said, he “liked the intimate physical contact”.
One of Buchan’s former patients said he suspected the doctor had given him genital warts as a result.
One of the two complainers, then 20, told of being diagnosed with kidney stones by Buchan, who then proceeded to “treat” the complaint by massaging the underside of his penis for up to 20 minutes.
Buchan told him to return to his surgery at 10pm that night, when he massaged the student’s penis for another 35 to 40 minutes.
The jury, by majority, convicted Buchan of indecently assaulting the man.
Further assaults
Another former young undergraduate said Buchan “grabbed” his testicles and asked him to remove his underpants when he went to see him with a sore knee.
The jury, by majority, convicted Buchan of indecently assaulting him.
A charge of indecently assaulting a third student patient was found not proven.
Two more ex-students gave evidence for corroboration purposes that Buchan had touched them inappropriately in his surgery.
Prosecutor James Moncrieff said Buchan had cleverly manipulated his patients, clouding what he had done with medical knowledge and using legitimate medical examinations to normalise subsequent actions.
Mr Moncrieff said: “He abused his position as a doctor and took advantage of these young men for his own sexual gratification.”
Mr Moncrieff said most of Buchan’s victims had not realised the significance of what had happened until they had matured.
Mitigation reserved
Buchan, of Camelon, Falkirk, who worked on the university campus for eight years and was also club doctor for East Stirlingshire FC, denied the indecent assaults and labelled his accusers “liars” and “fantasists”.
Sentence was deferred until May 8 for reports, bail was revoked, and Buchan was placed – again – on the Sex Offenders Register.
Buchan’s counsel reserved mitigation.
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