A physio who exploited an affair with a married patient and talked her into giving him nearly £30,000 has been struck off over his “deplorable” behaviour.
Daniel Wright was 28 and in a relationship when he wooed Sue Rees, who is 24 years his senior, within weeks of treating her at his private clinic.
The mum-of-one told the Sunday Mirror their relationship took a dark turn when he began “treating her like dirt”, then hounded her into transferring him £29,585 over five months.
She says she became suicidal over Wright’s “manipulative” behaviour, both during and after their 10-month affair.
Sue, 56, whose marriage has since broken down, said: “At first I was flattered, his attention was exciting.
“But it descended into something darker. He treated me like rubbish.
“I’m a sensible person and I still have no idea how I fell for it. He was controlling and so persuasive, he went on and on at me until I transferred him money.
“He preyed on me. I see it now as an abuse of power.”
Sue says she is “relieved” Wright has been struck off after a tribunal found he abused his professional relationship to sexually and financially exploit her.
And she has chosen to speak out because she believes Wright, 32, will attempt to manipulate other women.
She said: “I think he’s a narcissist. He never showed empathy or remorse.”
Sue says she and Wright were “chatty” when she began attending Village Physiotherapy clinic in Orpington, Kent, for a frozen shoulder in February 2017.
Their affair began “within a few weeks of her ceasing to be his patient”, the tribunal heard.
The pair had exchanged numbers as Sue knew someone who could provide him with furniture. She claims the physio messaged her to thank her and asked to have sex with her.
With her 28-year marriage “in a bad place”, Sue went along with it willingly.
During the fling the pair exchanged nude photos and engaged in webcam sex, the hearing heard. In October 2017 Wright messaged her to request cash.
Sue said: “He said if I wanted to see him again I had to send £1,000.
“I have no idea why I agreed – maybe I was flattered by his interest. But he kept asking for more to help with his rent and fix his motorbike and caravan.”
Documents show she transferred £29,585 in 24 payments from October 2017 to February 2018 – money from her late mother.
She said: “He told me I could afford to lose it. He went on about me sending money, and I went along with it.” Their affair – and the payments – ended after Sue’s husband found a text from Wright on her phone and she admitted cheating.
She recalled: “My family were furious at first, they couldn’t understand it.”
Sue and her husband moved and tried to make a fresh start but separated a few months later. When Wright heard about the split, he asked her to change banks and confirm in writing that the cash had been a gift.
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She says that when she refused, he “hounded” her with calls and messages. Sue added: “He was afraid I’d report him and it might cost his job.
“Yet he also said nobody would believe he would get involved with someone of my age.
“My marriage had ended and I was exhausted, working as a carer during the pandemic. My confidence was in pieces and his constant messages sent me to a dark place.”
After one such call, in April 2020 – two years after the affair ended – Sue hit rock bottom.
She said: “He called and kept going on about the money. I told him I’d had enough and didn’t want to be there.” Sue took an overdose – but Wright called emergency services to her home. She woke up the next day at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.
She began counselling, and reported Wright to the Health and Care Professions Council and the police.
Officers launched an investigation into whether she had been the victim of controlling and coercive behaviour.
Wright was arrested and interviewed in June 2020. No charges were brought and the case was closed.
During this, Sue realised how much she had given him. She said: “I felt sick. It was more than I was able to give my daughter for her mortgage.”
Wright was struck off last month by the Health and Care Professions Council. It found that he had “exploited [Sue’s] emotional dependence on him to obtain significant sums of money from her,” then “sought to cover up his misconduct by dishonesty”.
It said Wright showed little remorse and that there was a risk he would “use his professional position to exploit vulnerable patients for his own advantage in the future”.
Mr Wright declined to comment at his home this week.
