It has taken them more than a decade, but five women determined to have their doctor held accountable for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting them have finally been given some hope with his arrest this week.
Dr Gregory Hough, 53, a specialist endocrinologist, appeared in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Tuesday after handing himself over to the police.
He was released on bail of R5,000 the same day.
Earlier in November, the Pretoria High Court turned down his appeal to stop the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) from permanently barring him from practising pending the outcome of ongoing litigation.
Hough is accused of sexually assaulting the five women at his rooms at Netcare Greenacres Hospital.
The complainants, aged between 27 and 51, could not be reached for comment. They cannot be named due to the nature of the charges.
Due to his various appeals to the HPCSA and later through the courts, the criminal matter was delayed.
According to the provisional charge sheet before court, Hough faces three counts of rape and five of sexual assault.
The alleged incidents occurred between 2012 and 2019.
Though attempts to reach Hough for comment on Wednesday proved futile, he previously told The Herald that he was innocent.
“I deny the allegations made against me and maintain that the adverse findings [by the HPCSA] are unjust,” he said at the time.
Two of the complainants alleged they were sexually assaulted by Hough on more than one occasion.
In a series of alleged incidents, one complainant claimed Hough assaulted her twice in 2019, first by inserting his fingers in her private parts, and later by fondling her breasts.
A second complainant alleged that she was raped and sexually assaulted by him.
She claimed he allegedly raped her in 2018 when he unlawfully and intentionally committed an “act of sexual penetration” without her consent.
She claimed that in 2017, Hough unlawfully and intentionally sexually violated her by “touching her breasts and private parts with his hand” without her consent.
The other three complainants claim to have experienced similar abuse between 2012 and 2013.
Allegations were also made that he never wore medical gloves while “examining” some of his patients.
Prior to the criminal action, Hough was embroiled in a marathon legal battle with the HPCSA following complaints that were lodged against him by some of his former patients while based at Greenacres Hospital.
He was initially suspended from practising by the HPCSA in September 2020.
In his latest attempts to fight off the HPCSA, he filed an interim interdict application to the Pretoria court to overturn the decision to permanently bar him from practising.
According to the judgment delivered on November 4 this year, Hough was charged internally with seven counts of unprofessional conduct.
An inquiry into his conduct was scheduled for September 6 and 7 2023, but he did not attend.
The proceedings were then set down for October 25 2023, but a sick note was produced and an application for a permanent stay of the proceedings was brought on behalf of Hough.
That application was dismissed and his legal representative at the time withdrew from the matter.
A second legal representative then applied for a postponement, arguing that he still needed to prepare for the hearing.
However, when his request for a postponement was also dismissed, the second legal representative also withdrew.
On the same day, Hough excused himself from the proceedings.
The inquiry then proceeded in his absence and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.
This resulted in the matter being postponed to November 22 2023 for further evidence.
Hough then issued a formal complaint on November 1 2023 against the chair, advocate Justice Mogotsi, resulting in a recusal application.
An urgent application followed and the inquiry was held over pending the outcome of the application.
The recusal application was heard and dismissed in December 2023 and the inquiry was postponed to January 31 2024.
Hough failed to apply for the review of the recusal order and a ruling was made that the inquiry would proceed on February 21 2024.
But Hough issued a review application on February 20 2024.
A second urgent application was launched to hold over the inquiry pending the finalisation of the review.
That urgent application was struck from the roll due to a lack of urgency and the inquiry proceeded with the review application held in abeyance.
Hough was finally found guilty on June 3 2025 on two counts of unprofessional conduct and acquitted on five other charges since the complainant in those counts was not cross-examined.
Hough had presented a letter to the HPCSA at the time, in which he said he was destitute, his estranged wife had kicked him out of their home, and that he had moved back home with his elderly parents in Pietermaritzburg.
The HPCSA removed Hough’s name from the register of medical practitioners, effectively barring him from practising.
He then challenged the conviction and sanction on August 15 2025 and lodged an internal appeal and a review process, which is pending.
Hough then went to court to obtain an interim interdict to suspend the sanction against him pending the outcome of the appeal and the review process.
But earlier in November, acting judge Jacques Minnaar stated that upon analysing the record of the proceedings, the manner in which the inquiry was conducted, the charges laid, evidence presented and those being challenged, he could not find any grounds to constitute a strong prospect of success on either the review or an appeal.
Hough had claimed in his court papers that he was being financially prejudiced by not being able to earn an income as a medical practitioner.
Minnaar, however, said the financial prejudice to him could not be looked at in isolation.
He dismissed Hough’s application with costs.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the police’s family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit arrested Hough after he handed himself over, in the presence of his attorney, to the police on Tuesday morning.
Janse van Rensburg said his arrest came after extensive investigations into the complaints from five women who reported criminal cases with the police between September and October 2020.
She said after a lengthy and thorough investigation, Hough was arrested on charges of rape and sexual assault.
The Herald
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