Bassem Fouad: Brighton Le Sands man and former Mascot dentist convicted of sex offences

A disgraced dentist who rubbed his crotch against patients while performing procedures has narrowly avoided jail for the time being.

Bassem Fouad faced Downing Centre District Court

A disgraced dentist who rubbed his crotch against patients while performing procedures has narrowly avoided jail — for now at least, as his bail was continued prior to his sentencing.

After just over nine hours of deliberation on Thursday, a jury found Brighton Le Sands man Bassem Magdy El-Badrawy Fouad, 52, guilty of four counts of aggravated sexual touching, three counts of indecently assaulting a victim under his authority and sexually touching a child aged between 10 and 16-years-old.

The jury also returned a verdict of not guilty on one separate count of sexually touching another person.

The convictions relate to five separate patients who were sexually touched and assaulted at his Mascot dental practice between 2015 and 2021.

Over the trial, where Fouad pleaded not guilty to all offences, the court heard he rubbed his crotch against patients while performing procedures in his clinic, and touched the breasts of female patients.

Generic dentist picture.

The court also heard Fouad would frequently press himself against his patients and placed his dentistry tools on their breasts.

On Friday, the crown prosecutor said the former dentist should not remain on bail and instead spend time behind bars on remand as he awaits his sentencing.

But Fouad’s lawyer said his client was only convicted on Thursday and needed time to sort out his family’s finances.

“My client really is the one that supports his family,” the defence said, adding Fouad supported brothers who reside in Egypt and Canada, as well as supporting his stay-at-home wife.

When he decided to allow Fouad to remain on bail, Judge Phillip Mahony told the court this was not in any way a sentencing.

“I am not satisfied it is realistically inevitable that (Fouad) will be sentenced to full time imprisonment … (but he) should also not take this decision to mean he will not be sentenced to full time custody, rather just that the court is not making any determination at this time,” Judge Mahony said.

Fouad will remain on bail under strict conditions, including not leaving NSW or practising as a dentist, until he returns to court for his sentence hearing on May 26.