THE psychiatrist said to have been stalked and threatened by Maria Marchese was accused by her lawyer yesterday of being a “massive and comlex liar”.

Ms Marchese, who is on trial for harassing Jan Falkowski, claims that he assaulted her in his office at St Clement’s Hospital, in East London. Peter Higginson, her barrister, accused Dr Falkowski of creating a cocktail of drugs to stupefy and rape her in June 2002.

Miss Marchese, 45, first made allegations of rape after being arrested for stalking the doctor in January 2004. He was charged that December, but the case against him was dropped in August last year.

Miss Marchese, an Argentinian, is charged with harassment and making threats to kill Diane Pemberton, Dr Falkowski’s former fiancée, and perverting the course of justice by making a false rape allegation. She denies all the charges, and maintains that Dr Falkowski, 45, poisoned her with a drugged drink before sexually assaulting her.

Mr Higginson told Dr Falkowski: “It remains my client’s case that you stupefied her with a drug and . . . ravished her. I suggest that you have within your own knowledge the capacity to provide her with a cocktail of drugs.”

Mr Higginson read from Miss Marchese’s statements, in which she made the rape allegation. Miss Marchese said that she was “disgustingly sick” after the attack, and suffered flashbacks. She said that Dr Falkowski had told her that no one would believe her claim, and alleged that the doctor had threatened to kill her, in December 2003.

Dr Falkowski repeatedly told Southwark Crown Court that Miss Marchese’s claims were a fabrication and said that he had no access to prescription drugs.

The psychiatrist said that he had begun a physical relationship with his new partner, Bethan Ancell, before splitting from Miss Pemberton in October 2003. He admitted having sex with Miss Ancell in his office at the hospital, but he denied having sex with Miss Marchese or ever being alone with her.

Mr Higginson said that the doctor’s private life had been “based on a complete tissue of lies”. He claimed that Dr Falkowski had shown himself to be a “massive and complex liar” by his relationship with Miss Ancell. Dr Falkowski replied: “I regret the way things turned out. I know it was very upsetting for Deborah Pemberton. I think things might have been very different if it had not been for the harassment.”

After making her rape allegation, Miss Marchese provided police with a pair of pants containing Dr Falkowski’s DNA, and a partial match for Miss Ancell. Dr Falkowski said that Miss Marchese could have obtained his semen by stealing a used condom from his rubbish bins. He added: “I never realised that somebody so evil would go to such a concerted effort to destroy my life.”

Earlier Dr Falkowski told the jury about the impact of the rape accusation. “The professional consequences were devastating,” he said. “I lost my private practice, my reputation was irreparably damaged. I wasn’t allowed to talk to my colleagues, many of whom were my closest friends, but I still did not believe anything was going to come of it because I knew the allegations were absolute rubbish.”

The court was told that Miss Marchese had threatened to kill Miss Pemberton, and Dr Falkowski’s two children from previous relationships if the couple’s wedding went ahead.

The trial continues.

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