DOZENS of child abuse cases could be reopened because of the evidence of a controversial expert.

Calls have been made for an urgent review after a man had his conviction for raping a boy overturned because of the evidence of Dr Camille San Lazaro.

Dr Lazaro was heavily criticised in 2002 for her role in the investigation into claims of abuse at a Tyneside nursery by nurses Dawn Reed and Christopher Lillie.

Now she has been blamed for the decision to quash Kevin Brown's conviction after he served seven years for raping a five-year-old boy.

Dr Lazaro, who remains a senior lecturer and consultant paediatrician at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary and Newcastle University, is facing an investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) in March.

Dr Lazaro's evidence was central to the prosecution against Mr Brown, 38, of Medwyn Close, Bournmoor, near Chester-le-Street.

Lord Justice Kennedy ruled his conviction unsafe in the light of fresh medical evidence.

Brown, who denied the rape, had his first appeal dismissed in 1997 but his case was referred back to the Appeal Court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates miscarriages of justice.

The CCRC obtained three medical reports, including one from a doctor at the forefront of the 1987 Cleveland Child Sex Abuse Inquiry, that suggested injuries to the boy may not have been caused by a sex act.

Ruling the conviction unsafe, Lord Justice Kennedy said medical evidence at the trial had been oversimplified to the detriment of the defence.

The Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Cases Review Commission said it would be up to other individuals convicted of similar offences to seek appeals.