A DOCTOR who sexually assaulted a young woman after following her off a night bus has been jailed.

Pakistani Ali Ehsan, 31, who had been in the UK for less than a month at the time of the attack on August 10, claimed the victim had whispered “follow me” after he sat near her on the number three Yellow Bus.

However, the woman said the Royal Bournemouth Hospital employee had alarmed her so much on the journey that she got off the bus a stop early, only realising he was walking behind her when it was too late.

Anita Gibson-Lee, prosecuting, said the father-of-two had come to Bournemouth after winning a prestigious role at the hospital as a senior house officer.

“While on the bus, the victim first thought she was being subjected to a pick-pocket,” she said.

“The male put his hand down by her pocket and was touching her thigh.”

Ehsan then put an arm around the back of her seat.

Once off the bus, he then asked the woman where they were and offered her a cigarette before beginning to walk along with her.

As they approached Woodbury Avenue, near the Townsend estate, he grabbed her hand.

Mrs Gibson-Lee said: “She tried to pull away but he put his hand inside her sleeveless top.

“He swung her around.

“She said she attempted to escape but he grabbed her again and put his hand down her pants.”

The woman managed to kick out at him, kneeing him in the groin before he finally let her go and walked away.

The assault was captured on private CCTV, and a police appeal published on the front page of the Daily Echo led to a number of leads in the case.

Ehsan claimed that he believed his victim had wanted sexual contact before changing her mind, telling him he “would have to pay” and saying “feel me”.

The court heard the doctor, who is training to become a consultant cardiologist, is married and supports a family in Pakistan.

Tom Horder, defending, said: “He as somewhat isolated.

“He was a fish out of water in Bournemouth.

“He’d never before left Pakistan and he lived a very conservative lifestyle there based around his family.”

Ehsan, who pleaded guilty to one account of sexual assault, attacked the woman after drinking heavily on the second night of Eid.

Mr Horder said: “Drinking is something completely alien to him both religiously and culturally.”

Judge Peter Johnson sentenced the doctor to eight months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court, after which he will return to Pakistan.

Response of NHS Trust

A SPOKESPERSON for the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Mr Ehsan had only just joined the Trust and had therefore been working under supervision. All of our medical staff undergo a rigorous employment process with strict reference checks.”