On
May 10, 2013, a Riverside County Superior Court judge set a trial date for June
14 for a former male nurse, Paul Robert
Simon, to stand trial on charges he sexually assaulted three patients while he worked
at Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta. Mr. Simon is facing six felonies
in case Riverside County Superior Court Case No. SWF1300076. These allegations
are not evidence and Mr. Simon is presumed innocent.
Mr.
Simon is charged with three counts each of sexual battery on a medically
incapacitated person and of lewd acts by a caretaker on a dependent adult. He
faces a maximum of eight years in prison if convicted as now charged. One count was added at the preliminary
hearing and alleged that a third female victim was sexually assaulted by Simon
in late 2009 or early 2010. That sexual assault was reportedly
witnessed by a nurse at the hospital.
The
allegations are that in April 2009, a woman was admitted to Rancho Springs
Medical Center and briefly was on life support. When she awoke, she had
difficulty moving her body but was mentally alert. It is alleged that Simon,
her assigned nurse, went to her bedside and used the woman’s hand to masturbate
him. Another time, Simon allegedly touched the same victim inappropriately
during a time he was bathing her. In August 2010, another woman was admitted to
the hospital and was unconscious when Simon was allegedly seen by at least one
other nurse reportedly inappropriately touching a woman’s upper thigh area under her hospital gown. Simon’s
employment was subsequently terminated by the hospital.
A
preliminary hearing was held in this case and determine that there was enough evidence
for Mr. Simon to stand trial on on all six counts. These counts are three and four years old and it will be a case that relies on eyewitness testimony. The fact that there are three patients in one case will make it more difficult to defend and the defense will have its challenges.
Posted by Tracy Green, Esq. Please email Ms. Green, a very
experienced nurse attorney, license attorney, and board hearing attorney @ tgreen@greenassoc.com or call her at 213-233-2260 to schedule a complimentary 30 minute consultation.
