LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A former UK doctor faces dozens of charges linked to alleged sexual offenses against 38 patients who were in his care, including a child under 13, prosecutors have announced.

Nathaniel Spencer, 38, was charged with “a number of serious sexual offenses allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor” in central England, regional prosecutor Ben Samples said Friday.

They include “assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child,” he noted.

The charges against Spencer, of Birmingham, follow a police probe into the alleged sexual offenses at two regional state-run hospitals in Stoke-on-Trent and Dudley between 2017 and 2021.

“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence,” Samples said.

They established “that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings,” he added.

Spencer, who was a resident doctor — previously known in Britain as a junior doctor — faces 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 assault by penetration charges and one count of attempted assault by penetration.

He is also accused of a further dozen offenses involving a child under 13, which include sexual assault and assault by penetration.

Prosecutors and police have not disclosed how many alleged child victims were involved.

Spencer is due to appear at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January for his first court hearing.