WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Stephen Doohan begged the woman not to report him, and tried to buy her silence with gifts. He later pleaded guilty to assault, sexual assault and another charge of causing the woman to have an abortion
A paramedic who secretly gave a pregnant woman an abortion drug killing her unborn child has been told he faces a lengthy jail sentence.
Stephen Doohan, 33, who was a Clinical Team Leader with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) made the sick plan after she told him she was pregnant with his baby and had planned to go through with the pregnancy. Doohan met the woman on holiday in Spain in 2021 but at the time Doohan did not tell the woman that he was married and they remained in touch.
The woman discovered she was pregnant in March 2023, by which time Doohan had temporarily separated from his wife. After she told Doohan her plans to keep the baby he crushed the pills into a syringe before giving the woman the medication as she lay in bed at his Edinburgh home in 2023. Days later the woman, who has not been named, fell ill, and began to suffer stomach cramps, as a result of the drugs Doohan had given her.
The court heard she ended up in a ‘deep sleep’ before waking up to his advances, making her suspicious. Doohan later went to the toilet and the woman took the chance to peek under the mattress. Prosecutor Scott McKenzie explained: “She found a plastic syringe containing crushed tablets which had been pushed to the end of the syringe, reports MailOnline.
The woman then had to go to hospital on March 18 2023 due to the ongoing pain. Doohan went with her, pleaded with her not to go police – and also tried to buy her silence with gifts including perfume, socks, money to get her hair done and football tickets.
The next day, the woman collapsed in the shower and was rushed to hospital and this time insisted Doohan did not come in the examination room. It was soon after that it emerged she had suffered a miscarriage.
She eventually reported Doohan to the SAS having recorded a conversation of him effectively confessing. The police were then informed and he was later arrested and appeared in the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday May 15 where Doohan, now of Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to assault, sexual assault and another charge of causing the woman to have an abortion.
He had faced an allegation of stealing misoprostol from the Scottish Ambulance Service in Edinburgh, but a not guilty plea was accepted, reports Daily Record.
Mark Stewart KC, defending, said Doohan was “deeply sorry” for what he had done. The lawyer added he had issues at the time which affected his “judgement and decision making” although that did not excuse what happened.
Mr Stewart asked for Lord Matthews to take the “exceptional course” of continuing bail as Doohan was due to have further assessments on his mental health.
Doohan was warned by Judge Lord Matthews that he faces a lengthy jail-term after he admitted to his guilt. Judge Matthews agreed to continue bail to allow Doohan to attend further mental health assessments but warnd Doohan: “You have pled guilty to an appalling offence. There will be no alternative to a custodial sentence and, I must say, a fairly lengthy one.” Doohan was also put on the sex offenders list and is due to be sentenced next month.
A spokesperson for the SAS said: “As soon as we learned of the serious allegations and charges against Doohan, we took action to protect the public and liaised with Police Scotland. He no longer works for SAS.”