Praminder Mankoo, a leading British hair consultant of Asian origin, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his clients. He called women with scalp problems for “stress relieving massages” but groped their private parts instead.

A local London court heard several victims recall their “dreadful” experiences at the Thames clinic of Mankoo, a father of four. They said he used to grope their private parts in the guise of treatment and even tried to force himself on them.

A victim, Rayne Franklin of Berkshire who visited the clinic in 1998, came out in the open against Mankoo and gave a vivid description of the sexual assault on her.

Many other victims said the doctor used to lock the door of the examination room and begin his treatment, usually disrobing himself down to his shorts, often even forcing the women into vulgar acts.

Most women were shocked into silence or bore their embarrassment alone for fear of bad publicity, until one of them took him to court.

The court was told of the strange goings-on at the clinic for over several years. A decade ago, Mankoo was issued a police warning on the basis of a woman’s complaint.

Chairman of the Institute of Trichologists told the court categorically that no “massage to help circulation to the scalp should even go to the front of the shoulders, let alone the breast area”, according to the Daily Mail.

Defending Mankoo, lawyer Christine Agnew said her client needed time to “put his house in order” before sentencing. The judge agreed to give Mankoo bail for a month before announcing the sentence, but warned him not to offer any form of massage except for the scalp and not to administer any treatment at his clinic if another female was not present.