Trainee anaesthetist stole hospital drugs to ‘play god’ during sex
He wanted to be 'in a position of dominance and power'.
A trainee anaesthetist has been jailed after stealing drugs from the London NHS hospital he worked at to inject his girlfriend with during sex.
Jonathon Dean, 32, was sentenced to two years and one month in prison after taking various drugs from Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone between 2018 and 2023.
Judge Philip Grey said the Poplar local stole them to get his ‘sexual kicks’.
He said Dean wanted ‘chemically enhanced sex and being in a position of dominance and power’ and ‘playing god’.
In one of several messages to his girlfriend in Cambridge, Dean said: ‘Could have done anything to you – fine line between you not breathing and being unconscious.’
He continued: ‘Good thing I’m a decent anaesthetist. Would f*** you senseless.’
Duncan O’Donnell, prosecuting, told Huntingdon Crown Court that Dean ‘had formed a consensual sexual relationship with a young woman’.
‘That relationship involved high-risk sexual intercourse using painkillers and other items,’ O’Donnell said.
‘The case begins with the events of December 14, 2018, when the defendant drove to Cambridge from his home address in Epping.
‘He took with him an assortment of drugs commonly used in anaesthesia including morphine.
‘These are drugs to which he had access to at his job at Whipps Cross.
‘He took the drugs so he could inject them into the young woman as part of an agreed activity.
‘It seems concerns were raised within days to the medical director of Whipps Cross Hospital as the young woman had presented herself to another hospital.’
The barrister said that Dean had messaged his girlfriend that he ‘could have done anything to you’ and ‘could put a cannula on you and do whatever I want’, referring to the small tube placed in the vein to insert fluid.
Dean admitted at an earlier hearing to nine counts of the theft of drugs from Whipps Cross Hospital.
Five of the counts – concerning the theft of the drugs cyclizine, ondansetron, propofol, midazolam and morphine – were said to have happened on or before December 14, 2018.
Three of the counts, involving cyclizine, ondansetron and morphine, happened on or before January 28, 2019.
The ninth count of propofol theft was said to have happened between January 21 and March 21 last year, and the judge said he accepted this was for ‘self-medication’.
He said Dean had been placed on administrative duties following an investigation but was still able to use his swipe card in 2023.
The card was deactivated after it was realised he had taken the drugs.
The judge noted that Dean had ‘suffered from severe depression and anxiety’ and chose to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs.
He added: ‘You knew full well where to go for help and you did not do so.’
Dean also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
One count was of the class A drug morphine on January 28, 2019, and the other was of the class C midazolam on December 14, 2018.
Aisha Khan, for Dean, said: ‘The ultimate punishment is him not being able to work in this profession.’
She said that he was ‘intoxicated by the fantasy and excitement that was being offered’ by his relationship with the woman.
Khan described Dean as ‘a man who has suffered from addiction’ who was ‘ashamed for what has occurred’.
She said he had apologised ‘unreservedly’ in a letter to the judge.
In the letter he wrote: ‘I let a lot of people down and brought shame on myself and my profession.’
The judge said Dean’s offending struck ‘at the heart of the trust that’s placed’ in the medical profession.
He ordered that needles and other medical items from his home be confiscated.
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