A nurse who sexually assaulted a colleague and groped another’s bottom will not be allowed to return to nursing.

Care home nurse Emanoil Ionescu was working at a Tyneside nursing home in 2019 when he picked up the female co-worker, put her on a bench and pulled her legs apart, a misconduct hearing was told.

His victim said she felt disgusted and violated and he was later charged with sexual assault.

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Ionescu, who said he “loved” working as a nurse, was later convicted of sexual assault at Newcastle Crown Court in September last year (2022) after pleading guilty on the first day of his trial.

He was placed on the sex offender register and given a two-year community sentence including 30 days’ rehab work.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council met earlier this month to decide whether he should be struck off its nursing register.

It heard of previous incidents involving the nurse including in 2017 when he asked an 18-year-old colleague (referred to as Colleague A) if she wanted a hug, bent down as if to pick her up, put his arm around her and touched her buttocks when she tried to move away.

When interviewed about this incident he described what had happened as an “involuntary touch” saying it had not been intentional.

The panel heard he had previously asked another colleague to sit on his lap saying, “come to Santa for a present”, and put his hands around the waist of a third co-worker.

He admitted all charges against him at the misconduct hearing and accepted his actions were deliberate and sexually motivated.

In a statement Ionescu, who did not attend the hearing said: “I would like to apologise to my ex-colleague for my inappropriate behaviour and I am very sorry for my actions from that day, if I could go back in time, I would not repeat my inappropriate behaviour.

“I do not have any intentions to work as a nurse in the future due to my criminal conviction, even though I have loved to work as a nurse.”

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The panel concluded his misconduct and conviction had “brought the nursing profession into disrepute”.

It added it believed he poses a risk to the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public.

He was struck off the nursing register and now works in a takeaway pizza shop where he is not allowed to work solo with female colleagues or make deliveries.