Woman ‘spit out doctor-made coffee before becoming suspicious his semen was in the cup,’ court hears

A doctor accused of giving a woman cups of coffee containing his own semen suffers from a medical condition that causes him to ejaculate while using the toilet to defecate, a jury has said today

Dr. Nicholas Chapman, 55, of Taunton, Somerset, has denied two allegations of attempted unauthorized sexual activity by causing the woman to swallow his semen between September 12, 2020 and September 12, 2021.

Gloucester Crown Court previously heard that the woman first noticed the coffee brewed for her tasted ‘salty’ and then became suspicious when she found a ‘globule-like’ substance at the bottom of the cup.

Professor Asif Muneer told the jury today that Dr Chapman has been diagnosed with a condition called prostatitis which is treated with antibiotics.

“His condition has an element of secretion when he defecates,” Prof Muneer told the court.

“This is a medical situation when there is discharge from a flaccid penis, which is not related to sexually transmitted diseases. Men with spinal cord injuries also suffer from this condition.

‘The composition of this secretion is very different from that of normal ejaculation. This feature is not sexual in nature, but a response to his condition.

“In Dr. Chapman’s case, this has been described as chronic, because it is a condition that lasts for more than six months.”

The jury was told that Dr. Chapman was diagnosed with prostatitis when he was a teenager and that he has controlled the condition ever since. He also suffers from spontaneous ejaculation.

They also learned that Dr Chapman had been asked to videotape his toilet visit so the medical experts could examine it.

Oliver Kayes, a urologist who is an expert in defecation, explained that Dr Chapman had used a device to collect the clear secretion from his penis in clinical jars while he was defecating, rather than letting it down the toilet to walk.

“His condition requires him to ejaculate at least three times a week to avoid pain,” he said.

On balance, it would be difficult to distinguish between the fluids of a discharge or an ejaculation. The delayed dribble secretion is not the same as that of post-ejaculation.”

The jury was told that Dr. Chapman collected his semen in sample vials and used a universal stick to check his discharge.

Mr Kayes said: ‘This is not the usual way to test for anything as testing a urine sample would be more economical and reliable.’

The jury also heard that the condition is known in men who suffer from medical conditions such as spinal injuries, but since Dr. Chapman did not suffer from any related condition, his diagnosis is classified as ‘rare’.

A friend of the woman who received the offending coffee cup told the jury she had confided in her about her suspicions about what was going on.

She said, “She confided in me because she thought she was going crazy. It was quite difficult to understand what she was trying to tell me. She said her coffee tasted strange when Dr. Chapman made it for her. She told me it had happened a number of times.

“On Monday, September 13, I received a message from my friend that Dr. Chapman had prepared her a potion. She asked me to come over and together we poured some of the contents down the sink. We saw a spherical substance at the bottom of the cup.

‘I’d rather not look like this. I wore special gloves and with the help of a stick we tried to extract the substance and put it in containers – the coffee in one and the substance in the other.

‘I then made a fresh cup of coffee and we looked at it for comparison. There was nothing but coffee grounds on the bottom.

‘My friend initially put the trays in the fridge. It was decided that I would take them home and put them in a microwave bag, first in the refrigerator and then in the freezer.

“I then spoke to a friend who is a police officer that I trusted. He was at work when I contacted him so he said he would get back to me the next day. He suggested that I formally report this to the police.

“The following Friday I was told that Dr. Chapman had made coffee for her friend again and she was feeling physically ill. She and I went to the local village hall and met a police officer and handed over the offending items.’

In earlier evidence, the alleged victim, who cannot be identified, told the jury she spat out a cup of coffee made by the doctor because it tasted “salty” and had “a bulging substance” at the bottom of the cup.

She said, “Dr. Chapman made me several cups of coffee, but I clearly remember not drinking them… One day I saw an unusual sample bottle that had been thrown away. On another occasion I saw a similar bottle sticking out of his trouser pocket.

“I also remember Dr Chapman showing me photos on his phone and these were mostly of his dog and country walks. However, when he flipped through these images, a picture of his erect penis appeared. Dr. Chapman said I shouldn’t have seen that.

“I thought this was a mistake at first, but it happened again on another occasion. I turned around and he said again ‘you shouldn’t have seen that’. I haven’t told anyone about this.

“If I suspected something had been put in my coffee, I’d pretend I’d drunk it and pour some of it away to make it look like I’d drunk it.”

“I started asking myself what was going on.

“I was at a friend’s house once and when we suspected something was going on, we tried to fish out the contents. I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t expect to find semen at the bottom of my cup.

“There was also residue around the rim of the cup. I made the decision to take steps the next time I thought it would happen again.

‘On this occasion Dr. Chapman made me coffee and I took possession of it, but did not drink it. I then contacted a friend and we came up with a plan.

“It started with Dr. Chapman texting me that he had made me a drink. It looked normal. I threw away some of the contents. I noticed a stringy sticky residue around the rim of the mug.

“I took some photos — it’s timestamp September 14 at 3:15 p.m. I then emptied the rest of the contents into a container and my friend took it home and put it in her freezer.’

She told the jury that arrangements were then made for the sample to be handed over to the police and this happened three days later at a village hall.

The GP was arrested when the allegations came to light.

Defense attorney Virginia Cornwall has told the jury that the doctor’s defense is that at no point did he behave inappropriately and not just make coffee for the woman.

She said he never denied putting something in her coffee and doesn’t know who did it.’

The process continues.