Married Shropshire nurse suspended for groping woman colleague

Bekithemba Khumalo grabbed the female member of staff's buttocks while working at Myford House Nursing Home in Telford.

Khumalo blocked her path in hallways and accosted her on the stairs.

He also sent her series of unwanted Whatsapp messages at all times of the night asking her to meet him or go for a drink.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council found him guilty of touching her bottom and ruled it was sexually motivated.

The management at the home were made aware of the issue but the harassment continued, the hearing was told.

Georgia Whiting, for the NMC, said: "He inappropriately touched her buttocks on a number of occasions.

"This is set against the backdrop of sending text messages to the complainant asking her to meet up.

"She was made to feel very uncomfortable by these actions.

"There is evidence that the matter was reported but it was not handled appropriately by management."

The member of staff, referred to as Colleague A, told the hearing how the unwanted attention began in the summer of 2013.

Colleague A said she was friendly to Khumalo as he was agency staff and it was a very busy working environment so she wanted him to feel welcome.

"I don't know if he took it to mean something else," said Colleague A.

At first he approached her respectfully but then his attitude towards her changed.

"If I was walking down to lunch on my own I would walk past and he would grope me on the bum," said Colleague A.

"If I was walking down to the stairs he would push his trolley across and block the doors so I could not get past."

He began to text her but Colleague A told the hearing she had never given him her number and he took it from staff files.

Khumalo asked her to go for drinks or said they could meet up or he could come to her house, the hearing was told.

"He had my number but all the work colleagues had it, it is in the same file as the rota," said Colleague A.

She said other than texting "Who is this?" to the first message she never responded.

She said she either deleted the messages straight away or just did not reply.

"The messages just kept coming," said Colleague A.

"I would wake up to messages, he would text at 12am, 3am or 5am."

Colleague A told a colleague what was happening and it was referred to management, the hearing was told.

She requested not to be put on the same shifts as him.

But a manager openly asked Colleague A about it in the kitchen of the home in front of three other members of staff and she "withdrew into herself", it was said.

Colleague A said she was shy and did not like confrontation.

She never made a formal complaint to the home.

Khumalo claimed in a police interview he would play around with the girls and Colleague A would push him around and tickle him.

He said they had a "flirtatious and friendly" relationship and denied his actions were sexually motivated.

West Mercia Police charged Khumalo with sexual assault but no evidence was offered in court and the case was dropped.