Kent-based dispensing optician Michael Bowles has been suspended from General Optical Council registers after a fitness to practise panel heard details of prolonged sexually motivated harassment of a colleague.
The committee heard that between September 2016 and April 2017, Bowles behaved inappropriately towards a female colleague, including instances of squeezing her shoulder, touching her face and hair and unfastening her bra. He also verbalised explicit sexually motivated desires to her.
An investigation was launched into the registrant’s actions, the terms of which were breached after he contacted other witnesses by telephone. Bowles also failed to disclose the investigation to the GOC.
The committee said the sustained misconduct in this case showed evidence of harmful deep-seated personality and attitudinal problems, given it was perfectly clear to the registrant that his colleague found his behaviour inappropriate and she had asked him on many of occasions to stop.
An order for erasure will come into force once the period for lodging an appeal has lapsed.
