A trainee surgeon who was convicted of raping two women in Cornwall and Devon has also pleaded guilty to misusing patient records at hospital trusts.

Salil Korambayil, aged 32, of Redhill in Surrey, attacked and raped two victims in their own homes after meeting them on social media. He denied three counts of rape but was convicted by a jury at Truro Crown Court in November 2023, and jailed for 14 years.

Korambayil also pleaded guilty to three charges relating to misuse of records at hospital trusts in Cornwall and Devon. He was sentenced to 12 months, to be served consecutively with the sentence for rape, under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Sentencing details for the rape cases were made public last Thursday, after reporting restrictions were lifted following sentencing for the data-related offences.

One of the rape offences took place in North Devon in August 2020 and the other two happened in Cornwall in March 2021.  

Korambayil had worked in hospitals as a trainee colorectal and vascular surgeon between 2016 and 2021, the court heard. 

Sentencing Korambayil for the rapes in December 2023, Judge Simon Carr told him: “You deliberately targeted women who were very much older than you. You found them on the internet. You saw pictures of them. You were very aware of the age gap. In the case of both of them, you spent over a year grooming them - there’s no other word.”

Detectives have praised the courage of the victims of his crimes, who provided personal statements to be read out in court. One said that, since the rape, she has lost confidence and no longer feels comfortable walking alone, travelling by car even for short journeys. She suffers from panic attacks, loss of sleep and rapid mood swings. 

She said: “I have a constant nightmare of being chased and hunted down. I sometimes wake myself up screaming.”

The second victim described how she has developed a phobia of clinicians who resemble Korambayil, suffers panic attacks during examinations and has lost faith in the medical and surgical profession. 

Korambayil admitted looking at patient records without any work-related need at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Detective Inspector Daniel Massey, who led the investigation under the name Operation Humulis, said: “The offender was a man in a position of trust and authority, and he abused that position with his actions. We would like to thank everyone who supported this investigation and helped us to achieve this outcome.”

Anyone who thinks they may have been affected can contact Devon and Cornwall Police, quoting Operation Humilis and/or crime reference 50002000044 or contact their local force.