A mother was indecently assaulted by a doctor in her bedroom while her husband was there, a court heard.

Rodney Tate, 66, is on trial at Lewes Crown Court, accused of sexually assaulting 14 women over 25 years.

The jury heard he made a home visit to a patient with bad stomach pains, then examined her breasts for no reason.

The woman said her husband was in the room but couldn't see what Tate was doing.

She was later diagnosed as having gall stones and said no other doctor had examined her breasts in relation to the complaint, either before or since.

She said of the alleged incident in the mid-Eighties: "I was a bit shocked because I didn't understand why he was examining my breasts. I just felt very uncomfortable. It just wasn't necessary."

Tate, who denies 17 counts of indecent assault, was suspended in August 2004 from the Old Steine Surgery, Brighton, where he had worked for more than 30 years.

Another witness told the court Tate "groped" her when she was pregnant.

The woman, then 24, said she went to see him with stomach pains and he told her to strip then sexually assaulted her.

She said at one point he left her undressed on the examination couch before walking round the room and then assaulting her a second time.

The witness wept as she said: "He then just kept touching my breasts. I just kept staring at the ceiling thinking, 'when is this going to stop?'."

Afterwards, Tate told her she was probably suffering from a grumbling appendix or wind.

Story published February 11, 2006