GPhC Suspends Superintendent Pharmacist for Sexually Motivated Harassment of 17-Year-Old Apprentice

Date of Decision: September 3, 2026

Registrant's Role: Pharmacist

Allegations:

• While working as superintendent and owner of a community pharmacy, the registrant made inappropriate and/or unprofessional comments to a 17-year-old apprentice. These included statements to the effect that: they would be “perfect together”; if they were together, she could “take the whole store”; when he first interviewed her, he knew she was “going to mean something” to him; and he asked her to marry him.
• The registrant contacted the apprentice via WhatsApp and sent repeated inappropriate and/or unprofessional messages. The communications included discussion of marriage, having children, contraception, living together, her becoming his wife, waiting until she turned 18, secrecy surrounding their communications and relationship, and the possibility of physical touching. He also repeatedly suggested deleting their messages.
• The registrant’s conduct: amounted to harassment because it was persistent, violated the apprentice’s dignity and created a degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment; was sexual in nature and/or sexually motivated because he sought a sexual or intimate relationship with her; was alleged to amount to grooming by attempting to persuade her to enter an intimate or sexual relationship; and
• lacked integrity because the registrant intended the proposed relationship to be secret and because of the significant imbalance of power arising from their respective ages and professional positions.
• Between approximately 21 and 23 April 2025, after the apprentice had refused the registrant’s advances on several occasions, the registrant suggested that he would end her placement/employment at the pharmacy, wholly or partly because she had rejected those advances.

Outcome: Suspension from the register for 12 months

GPhC Standards Breached:

• Standard 2 – Pharmacy professionals must work in partnership with others, including taking action to safeguard people, particularly children and vulnerable adults.
• Standard 5 – Pharmacy professionals must use their professional judgement, including making the care of the person their first concern and acting in their best interests.
• Standard 6 – Pharmacy professionals must behave in a professional manner, including acting with integrity.
• Standard 8 – Pharmacy professionals must speak up when they have concerns or when things go wrong, including promoting and encouraging a culture of learning and improvement.
• Standard 9 – Pharmacy professionals must demonstrate leadership, including not abusing their position and supporting the education, training and development of others.

Case Summary

Original Case Document