A man accused of groping a doctor while she carried out a routine procedure under local anaesthetic at a medical centre in Ipswich has been cleared by a jury.

Christopher Jennies had been given gas and air and injections to numb part of his face when he allegedly reached out and squeezed her between the legs over her trousers, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The doctor immediately stopped the procedure and told Jennies she wouldn’t treat him and he would have to see a male doctor, said Charles Myatt, prosecuting.

When Jennies was interviewed by police he denied sexually assaulting her and said he had touched her face because he was trying to show her where the pain was.

Jennies, 46, of no fixed address, denied sexual assault on August 20 last year and was unanimously found not guilty by a jury after a two-day trial.

Mr Myatt alleged that while Jennies was being given gas and air he had asked the doctor if she was married.

He then allegedly stroked her face and apologised when she pushed his hand away.

The doctor then allegedly felt his hand slide across her stomach and shortly afterwards allegedly felt him squeeze her between the legs.

Cross-examined by defence counsel Steven Dyble, she accepted there had been a nursing assistant in the room at the time of the alleged incident.

She denied the defendant had made an involuntary movement with his hand because he was in pain.

Giving evidence Jennies said he had been anxious about the treatment.

He denied touching the doctor between the legs intentionally or inadvertently.

He said he only became aware there had been a complaint against him several weeks later.