A doctor from Angus caught paying for the sexual services of children online has been struck off the medical register.
Kieran Titheridge was sentenced to three years and four months behind bars at the High Court in Edinburgh in February after admitting two offences, one of which saw him pay a mystery woman for Skype strip shows after choosing from a selection of young girls, ranging in age from three to 14.
Titheridge, 34, who worked at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, was also caught with indecent images of children when his Aberdeen flat and family home in Arbroath were raided by police.
His perverted actions were said in court to have ruined his career.
Titheridge’s name has now been removed from the medical register following a fitness to practise hearing before a panel in Manchester.
Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel chairwoman Dr Wendy Kuriyan said: “The panel decided to erase Dr Titheridge’s name.
“It also imposed an immediate order of suspension to cover the 28-day appeal period. This concludes the case.”
In a ruling released yesterday the panel said Titheridge’s actions were “a serious breach of fundamental tenets of his profession”.
The MPTS fitness to practise hearing had been convened to consider the outcome of the High Court proceedings.
Titheridge will also be supervised by the authorities for two years when he is released from jail.
However, he avoided an additional period of imprisonment when he appeared in court after the initial conviction and admitted a “technical” breach of bail by accessing Google Maps on his mobile phone.
The index offence saw Titheridge make four payments to the unidentified woman over a two-month period between October 2012 and November 2013.
He was caught after detectives were told he had sent money through PayPal to an email account that investigating officers believed was linked to the woman who arranged the strip shows.
Messages sent via Skype revealed Titheridge had engaged in several conversations with a foreign woman.
In one conversation he asked: “Are the young girls awake?”
Titheridge’s advocate said the doctor had begun looking at adult pornography but curiosity led to the lines becoming “somewhat blurred” and he got involved in browsing indecent images of children.