Doctor barred after downloading sick images of children and animals

Dr Alexander Knight had thousands of images of children, babies, bestiality and adult rape

A Devon doctor has been removed from the medical register after being convicted of downloading thousands of indecent images and videos of children. Barring Dr Alexander Knight from the profession, a medical watchdog revealed the material found on his devices included images of young children and babies being sexually abused.

Knight, 54, (formerly known as Alexander Grice), was an anaesthetist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, when he was arrested in June 2022. He was jailed for 20 months in March 2024 after he admitted charges related to images found on his phone and another device.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunals Service has now erased his name from the register after finding his practice was impaired by reason of his recent convictions at Exeter Crown Court. In its published decision, the Tribunal said: "Dr Knight admitted in his police interviews that he had been downloading and viewing the extreme and prohibited images for approximately four-years."

It added: "The police report details that thousands of images were found downloaded onto Dr Knight’s devices that included sexual assault of young children and babies, adult rape and bestiality. The police report comments that the images found ‘include some of the worst images that the examiner had seen within the last two-years’.

"This raises a significant concern about Dr Knight’s attitude and the risk he poses to vulnerable people."

Ms Katie Nowell, counsel for the General Medical Council, said that although Dr Knight made admissions during the criminal proceedings, he gave no explanation as to why the offences were committed. "There has been no apology, remediation or insight demonstrated for his conduct and convictions," said Ms Nowell, calling for his erasure from the register.

The Tribunal agreed, stating that his conduct was fundamentally incompatible with continued registration. "The Tribunal determined that Dr Knight’s conduct was so serious that no other sanction would sufficiently address its concerns," it said.

It also said that while there was no evidence of direct harm being inflicted by Dr Knight, the images found on his devices demonstrated harm being inflicted upon vulnerable children and adults. "This raises a significant concern about Dr Knight’s attitude and the risk he poses to not only patients under his care but to the wider public."

Knight worked at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital when he was interviewed by Devon and Cornwall Police on June 8, 2022. His devices were seized and police found more than 6,000 indecent images of children located on his mobile phone and on a storage device recovered from his home.

He was further interviewed by police on June 22, 2022 and on February 2, 2023 and made full admissions. On March 8 at Exeter Crown Court, Knight of East Street, Chulmleigh, and formerly of Poughill, Crediton, admitted three counts of making, by downloading, indecent images of children, and possessing prohibited and extreme images.

He was sentenced to 20 months in jail and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed for 10 years. Knight, who graduated in medicine at Southampton University in 2008, was also placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

He changed his surname from Grice after being charged and appeared in court under his new name.

Following his conviction in March, a Royal Devon and Exeter hospital spokesperson said: "We are shocked and saddened by the nature of these crimes and our thoughts are with those affected.

"Of the crimes Alexander Knight was charged with, there is no suggestion any were committed on Trust premises or involved any of the Trust's patients. Following his arrest in June 2022 all appropriate processes were followed and we continue to work closely with Devon & Cornwall Police and the GMC.

"In line with our commitment to a just and learning culture, we have also commissioned an external review to consider whether there is anything we can learn from this."

Knight did not attend the MPTS hearing and refused to engage with the regulator.