Former paramedic Sipho Nkanyezi sacked after revelations of sexual assault overseas

A sacked Western Sydney paramedic, who sexually assaulted a colleague while working overseas, was on a sex offender’s list for almost two years before his registration was suspended.

A former Western Sydney paramedic, who sexually assaulted a female colleague while working as a paramedic in London, was on a registered sex offender’s list overseas for almost two years before his registration was suspended. GENERIC IMAGE. Picture: Thomas Lisson

A former Western Sydney paramedic, who sexually assaulted a female colleague while working as a paramedic in London, was on a registered sex offender’s list overseas for almost two years before his registration was suspended, it can be revealed.

Sipho Nkanyezi, 37, was convicted in the Cheslm Crown Court in England of sexually assaulting a female colleague after a night out with friends in London between May 3 and May 4, 2019.

United Kingdom Health Care Professions and Tribunal Service documents state Nkanyezi, along with several others, was staying at the woman’s flat when he snuck into her bedroom and inappropriately touched her multiple times.

He only pulled his hand away when the woman yelled out to a friend “get him to stop” and he was told to leave the flat, the documents state.

Former NSW Paramedic Sipho Nkanyezi had his registration suspended almost two years after he was convicted of a sexual assault on a female colleague while working as a paramedic in the UK. Generic image. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The group had been out at a bar and a club and Nkanyezi, who “seemed drunk”, had made the woman feel uncomfortable throughout the night, the documents state.

The documents state the woman told Nkanyezi over the phone he sexually assaulted her and he apologised and asked if he could speak to her.

“He said, ‘If I offended you tonight in any way, I apologise’,” the documents state.

Nkanyezi suggested to police his colleague had invited him to sleep in her bedroom and that she had kicked him out in the middle of the night for “no reason that he knew of” and denied touching her inappropriately, the documents state.

The documents state Nkanyezi was described as a “man of good character”,

He pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault and went to trial in 2021, where he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months.

He was also subject to an indefinite restraining order to protect the woman and pay her £2000 ($3793 AUD) in compensation.

Tribunal documents state Nkanyezi moved to Australia with his family after the incident but returned to the United Kingdom for his criminal trial.

A former Western Sydney paramedic, who sexually assaulted a female colleague while working as a paramedic in London, was on a registered sex offender’s list overseas for almost two years before his registration was suspended, it has been revealed. Generic image. Picture: Thomas Lisson

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) register states Nkanyezi was registered as a paramedic in Australia on May 20, 2019 - just over two weeks after the assault in London. It is understood he was employed by NSW Ambulance when he went to trial overseas.

Nkanyezi was placed on a registered sex offender’s list after he was convicted of the sexual assault on December 10, 2021, but a Paramedicine Council of New South Wales spokesman confirmed to this publication his Australian registration was not suspended until December 5, 2023.

He was later removed from the United Kingdom’s Health Care and Professions Council register in late 2023.

The New South Wales Paramedicine Council spokesman said the council works with the New South Wales Health Care and Complaints Commission to manage and receive complaints about paramedics and paramedic students.

Sipho Nkanyezi was placed on a registered sex offender’s list after he was convicted of a sexual assault in the UK on December 10, 2021. Generic image. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The spokesman said the council can suspend a practitioner or impose conditions on their registration if serious concerns are raised about risk to public health or safety or if there is a need to act in the public interest.

He could not confirm, by law, the exact reason Nkanyezi’s registration was suspended nor if he had appealed the suspension.

A New South Wales Ambulance spokesman did not name Nkanyezi, but told this publication the service was aware a former employee had been convicted of a criminal offence in the United Kingdom.

The spokesman said the former employee was a registered health practitioner by the time they were employed with NSW Ambulance, but their employment ended prior to the decision from the UK tribunal to have him removed from the UK register.