The Woodford Green boss of an eating disorder clinic who sexually assaulted two teenage patients has been jailed for two years and seven months today.

Samuel Marks, 59, a service manager for the North East London Foundation Trust, made excuses to visit the girls at home purely so he could fondle them.

The senior social worker groped a 14-year-old victim after claiming he needed to examine her breasts and vagina to make sure she was developing normally, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

She was in bed with a cold at the time of his visit on December 30, 2010, and had cancelled a previous appointment because of her illness.

When Marks arrived at the house he asked her mother to keep an eye on his car, claiming he was worried about getting a parking ticket.

He pretended to check the girl’s blood pressure with a stethoscope he was not qualified to use, then persuaded her to take off her pyjamas so he could conduct an intimate examination.

Marks, who led a team of doctors, nurses, clinical psychologists and administrators, carried out a similar attack on an 18-year-old patient during a home visit on November 28.

He yanked down her top and bra, still pulling as the victim struggled to keep herself covered up, and claimed it was because he needed to check her pulse with his stethoscope.

The assault was exposed when a letter was sent to all of his 29 female patients at the Eating Disorder Clinic in Porters Avenue, Dagenham, asking any other victims to come forward.

Judge Neil Sanders said Marks, a married grandfather of St Alban’s Crescent, had abused his position of trust to satisfy his own sexual desires.

Marks admitted two counts of sexual assault and one of engaging in sexual activity with a child.