A PERVERT doctor who lied to his patients so he could touch and photograph their genitals in a Swanley surgery has today been jailed for six years.

Dr Barend Delport told his female victims - aged between 18 months and over 60 - he had to take pictures "for training purposes" or because their symptoms were "the worst he had ever seen".

The 55-year-old, who practiced at The Oaks Surgery in Nightingale Way, was found to have more than 5,500 indecent images among 500,000 photos of porn and voyeurism on his computer when detectives raided his home in Eynsford last year.

These included photographs taken in the surgery of both adults and children over a ten-year period, as well as indecent images downloaded from the Internet.

On sentencing South African born Delport at Maidstone Crown Court this afternoon, Judge Philip Statman said: "What you did, for utterly spurious reasons, was to use your position of trust as a General Practioner to touch and photograph your victims, giving your reason as a desire to help with clinical education and a report an allegation of bad practice at a hospital.

"In my judgement all of that was a complete sham."

An investigation was launched after a patient contacted police to say Delport, of Eynsford Rise at the time, had taken intimate photographs of her when she visited him complaining of a stomach ache.

Prosecutor Anthony Haycroft: "Between 2002 and 2012 he was involved in a gross breach of trust towards his patients.

"If it wasn't for the fact he was a GP it could not have happened.

"His motivation was sexual.

"He cloaked his actions with medical justification."

Delport resigned on May 14 last year and was immediately banned from practising.

Detectives seized photographic consent forms with lies about how they had to be photographed.

Senior health practitioners were consulted and agreed the reasons he gave patients for taking their pictures would serve no clinical purpose and were not true.

Last month Delport admitted 26 offences, including four sexual assaults on adults and three sexual assaults on children.

He also pleaded guilty to 12 counts of taking indecent images of children, five counts of making indecent images of children and two counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Of the 5,558 indecent images found on Delport's computer in Eynsford Rise, 4,697 were photos of children he downloaded and 842 of patients he took himself and involved 43 children at the practice.

Michael Haynes, mitigating, told the court his client is "deeply remorseful".

He added: "It could not be a bigger fall from grace.

"He's lost his job, his colleagues, his home and lives with the consequences of his actions.

"He is all too aware of that and struggling to cope with these factors while at the same time realising the breach of trust he's caused his patients."

Detective Chief Inspector David Chewter, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Delport’s patients – some of whom were vulnerable – needed treatment, and placed their trust in him. He breached that trust in the most appalling way.

"This was a complex case, and we identified more victims as our investigation progressed.

"When he pleaded guilty last month he was accepting of the fact that he faced a long prison term, and that is what has been passed today."

A spokesperson for the Oaks Surgery said:“Dr Delport abused his position of trust as a GP and betrayed the confidence his patients had in him. We at The Oaks Surgery would like to thank all the patients who helped bring Dr Delport to justice today and to offer them our deepest sympathies for his shocking crimes.

“The practice has worked closely with NHS England’s Kent and Medway area team to ensure high quality standards, particularly in the areas of safeguarding, ensuring patients’ awareness of chaperoning, and medical photography.”

Delport will be put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.