Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Friday, 22 November, 2002
Dr David Tomlinson, who had worked at a sexual health clinic in London, had also been accused of carrying out inappropriate examinations on other patients.
However, a General Medical Council disciplinary committee ruled there was insufficient evidence to find Dr Tomlinson guilty of professional misconduct.
The committee said his decision to borrow gay pornographic video tapes from a patient was an "error of judgement".
Dr Tomlinson, who comes from Dover in Kent, worked as genito-urinary consultant at St Mary's hospital in Paddington, central London between 1993 and 2000.
He was a member of staff at the Working Men's Project which he had set up to deal with sexual health promotion, HIV prevention and the health needs of male prostitutes.
Pornographic videos
During the hearing, it emerged that he borrowed gay porn videos from a patient known as Mr F - who worked as a go-go dancer at a nightclub and at a gay brothel in London.
Mr F told the GMC that Dr Tomlinson had said he should carry on working as a male prostitute despite being HIV positive.
"He told me I was a very good looking boy and there was no reason I could not continue working as an escort," Mr F said. "I was absolutely horrified."
Dr Tomlinson was also accused of carrying out eye examinations on other patients when they were naked, rubbed his crotch against them and in the case of one patient stroked their thigh.
He had been accused of carrying out an excessive number of genital and anal examinations on one patient between 1995 and 1997.
But Professor Michael Whitehouse, chairman of the GMC's professional conduct committee, said there was insufficient evidence to find Dr Tomlinson guilty on any of the charges made against him.
He said: "The committee agree with Dr Tomlinson that his acceptance of the two video tapes was an error of judgment, but they find that fact taken with all the other matters found proved would be insufficient to amount to serious professional misconduct."
He was also found not guilty of gently rubbing the shoulders of another male patient in 1996 and inappropriately looking at his upper body, and was cleared of becoming sexually aroused while rubbing his crotch against a patient in 1999.
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