Psychologist remains FREE to practice despite being caught grooming

A child psychologist at the controversial Tavistock hospital trust remains free to practise despite being caught grooming a schoolboy for sex in a park.

Dr Ross Canade was entrusted to treat youngsters' mental health as lead psychologist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which became infamous for its gender clinic helping children to transition to a different sex.

Canade was snared by a group of self-styled 'paedophile hunters' in an online sting after he sent sexually explicit messages to a youngster who told him he was aged 15.

The 53-year-old psychologist met up with his would-be victim in a Nando's restaurant, then arranged to go to a local park to have sex. 

The pair were 'ambushed' by members of a vigilante group posing as friends of the youngster who had been monitoring their interactions, a court heard.

Canade pleaded guilty on July 29 to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. On Monday, he was handed a 12-month suspended sentence by a judge at Wood Green Crown Court.

Although he was spared jail, he was sacked by the Tavistock.

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However the Mail can reveal that despite his conviction for child sex offences, Dr Canade has not been suspended by the regulator which oversees his profession.

Anyone wishing to hire him to treat vulnerable children would find that, according to the website of the Health and Care Professions Council, he remains registered to practise, without any conditions. It is the council's job to keep the public safe from rogue psychologists.

At the Tavistock, Dr Canade specialised in treating children and adolescents with mental health issues, known as CAMHS services. 

According to his profile on the LinkedIn website, he was the lead and 'highly specialist' psychologist at the trust. It is understood he did not treat patients at the hospital's controversial gender clinic.

On June 1, he made contact with a youngster on the gay dating website Grindr, his crown court sentencing hearing was told. 

Prosecutor Paul Fairley said Canade believed he was in contact with a 15-year-old boy and was unaware that 'a decoy profile' had been set up and he was in fact speaking to an older person.

The pair exchanged numbers and the conversation which 'quickly turned sexual' continued on WhatsApp. 

They had talked about 'having sex in a local park' and five days later the pair met up and ate together in the Nando's in Southgate, north London. 

Before long, the teenager's 'friends' who were members of a vigilante group 'surrounded' Canade, until police arrived to arrest him.

Sentencing Canade, Recorder David Osborne told him the boy had 'made it clear in the first conversation that he was 15 years old'.

The judge said: 'You established he was inexperienced, and there was discussion of having sex in a local park. You agreed to meet with the intention of having sexual relations afterwards.'

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Canade, of Enfield, north London, was also given a six-month suspended sentence to run concurrently after admitting to attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child. Both sentences were suspended for 18 months.

Archie Manby, defending, said Canade had been working in 'an incredibly high pressure environment' within the NHS as a clinical psychologist but had now lost his employment and good character. 

He said: 'He had patients, who he had been working with for some considerable time - their therapy with Mr Canade had to be immediate terminated.' The court heard that some of his patients had provided testimonials on his behalf.

Mr Manby said Canade had previously had therapy, having struggled with his own mental health, and was undergoing further treatment. 

Canade was also ordered to carry out 150 days of unpaid work as well as complete 35 sessions of a sex offenders rehabilitation course.

Canade had worked at the Tavistock trust since August 2020 having previously worked there as a trainee in 2013 and 2014. Sources at the trust said none of its patients were involved in the offending.

A trust spokesman said: 'We can confirm that a former Trust employee has been convicted of offences involving a minor. As soon as we were alerted to the police investigation, we suspended the individual and subsequently he was dismissed.'

The Health and Care Professions Council said: 'This has been forwarded to the relevant department for their attention.'