A KIDDERMINSTER doctor who sent explicit photos of a married man to his wife and children to take 'revenge' against him has avoided being struck off.

Dr Jonathan Darby sent sexual images of his victim - named only as 'Mr A' - to the man's spouse on WhatsApp and posted them to his children.

The 62-year-old was convicted of revenge porn at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court in October 2021 and was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and given a two-year restraining order against four individuals.

Dr Darby gave his address as Hill Grove Crescent in Kidderminster at the time of his sentencing and the offence happened in the Blakedown area.

He faced a hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal last month which resulted in a six month suspension of his medical licence.

The judgement has now been published.

Dr Darby worked as a GP Partner at Halesowen Medical Practice, from 1989 until 2016.

He continued to work at the practice as a part-time salaried GP until August this year when he retired.

He also worked as a script advisor on the popular BBC daytime drama 'Doctors'.

In 2015, he gave an interview to BBC Inside Out about how he helped make sure the show was as authentic as possible.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Dr Jonathan Darby on BBC's Inside Out Dr Jonathan Darby on BBC's Inside Out (Image: BBC Inside Out)

The nature of Dr Darby's relationship with Mr A was kept hidden at his tribunal, however it was heard the offending related to his personal life.

The tribunal report states: "Having previously forwarded material gathered by a private investigator to Mr A's family by post, Dr Darby later discovered the sexual photographs of Mr A and copied them.

"He sent these to Mr A's wife via WhatsApp. He also arranged for the images to be posted to Mr A's adult children.

"It was the tribunal's view that these actions were calculated to cause distress and demonstrated premeditation."

The report states Dr Darby's "conduct leading to his conviction was an isolated lapse in an otherwise unblemished career" and that striking him off the medical register would be too harsh.

It goes on: "The tribunal was of the view that, given Dr Darby's developing insight, together with the other mitigating factors... erasure would be disproportionate in the particular circumstances of this case.

"The tribunal was satisfied that the actions resulting in his conviction were not so egregious as to warrant permanently depriving the public of an otherwise clinically competent doctor."

The report states: "He has apologised to Mr A's family and stated the apology should be extended to Mr A.

"He states that he has reflected a lot since the incident, that not a day goes by when he doesn't think of it, and he will continue to reflect for the rest of his life."

Dr Darby told the tribunal he would like to continue supporting the NHS with the Covid-19 pandemic and "would like to do locum work."

The report states: "Medicine is a huge part of his life and he would like to continue to practise."