Gynaecologist faces charges for secret photos

A German prosecutor said that 700 women had agreed to press charges against a gynaecologist who is suspected of secretly taking thousands of pictures of patients during check-ups in his practise.

As many as 3,000 female patients may have fallen victim to the doctor's hidden camera during examinations at his office in the town of Schifferstadt in western Germany, local state prosecutor Lothar Liebing said.

"He stands accused of secretly taking photos of female patients' private body parts," Liebing said. "We now need to make clear to what extent he has done this and, of course, why he did this."

The gynaecologist could face up to a year in prison if convicted for violating intimacy laws, according to Liebing, but the investigations could be protracted due to the number of photographs – more than 35,000 – found in the doctor's office.

German media have said the doctor is 56 years old. The doctor's practise is now closed, according to Liebing.

(Reuters Health, November 2011)