A FORMER senior doctor has gone on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of five counts of child rape.

Paul Grout, 65, of Stanley Street in Ulverston, is accused of  repeatedly raping a girl in Barrow and South Cumbria in 2020 when she was aged between 11-12 years-old.

Alastair MacDonald KC prosecuting said Grout did not have a set pattern of work due to his position as a consultant in emergency medicine in A&E, as well as being deputy medical director for Furness General and Westmorland Hospitals.

The court heard the complainant first reported the incidents at her school by leaving a note on her teacher’s desk.

She confirmed to the safeguarding lead at the school how the defendant had allegedly sexually assaulted the girl. 

Mr MacDonald KC said the complainant expressed difficulty in saying out loud the intimate detail of what the defendant did to her when speaking with police in interview.

In her witness interview, she said that the defendant had sexually assaulted her at least five times but no more than 15 times, the court heard.

Mr MacDonald KC told the jury: “Over the period of time he was abusing her, she behaved no differently towards the defendant. She would act as though nothing had happened.

“The prosecution say that it is common for children, who have been sexually abused, in any circumstances, not to complain immediately to an adult and that it can be no surprise that she did not complain straight away."

The court heard in police interview that the defendant strenuously denied the allegations and said they had come as a complete and utter shock to him.

Mr Grout worked as the site lead at Furness General Hospital and the deputy medical director for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

He was suspended in 2021.

The General Medical Council also imposed restrictions on his practice pending the outcome of an investigation.

A spokesperson for the public body confirmed that an investigation was ongoing.

The trial continues.