University Police are investigating allegations that a male nurse at Fairview-University Medical Center raped a female patient in the hospital last Thursday.
Officers arrested the 31-year-old nurse early Thursday morning after the 20-year-old patient reported the assault to emergency room employees, according to police reports.
The medical center is located near the University’s East Bank on East River Road and Harvard Street.
University Police Sgt. Jo Anne Benson said investigators have filed a criminal complaint against the nurse, but prosecutors from the Hennepin County attorney’s office have requested more information from the police department before they decide to pursue the case.
Third-degree felony criminal sexual conduct charges are pending against the nurse, Benson said. He is no longer in police custody.
The alleged assault took place between 2:30 and 2:45 a.m. Thursday. Investigators will not disclose where in the hospital the nurse allegedly assaulted the victim. Benson would not comment on the specific nature of the assault, but confirmed that some type of penetration occurred.
Medical professionals who specialize in sexual assault cases treated the patient at the hospital after the incident. Police have sent a sexual assault evidence kit to the Hennepin County Crime Laboratory, Benson said. The victim is no longer at the hospital.
Police and hospital officials would not comment on the medical condition of the victim prior to the assault. Benson would not confirm whether the patient was a University student.
Jean Tracy, a spokeswoman for Fairview-University Medical Center, said the nurse’s employment is not in jeopardy at this time. She would not speculate on his job status if criminal charges are filed.
The nurse has worked at the hospital for the past two years, Tracy said. She said he is not scheduled to work at the medical center this week.
In related news:
ù A Hennepin County district judge sentenced a 41-year-old Minneapolis man to 11 years in prison Thursday for raping a woman at Fairview-University Medical Center Jan. 20, 1998.
Douglas Young was convicted of assaulting the 20-year-old woman while they were patients at the center’s chemical-dependency unit.
The man lured the woman into his hospital room with the promise of showing her his CD player; instead he sexually assaulted her.
The woman reported the incident to another patient and to hospital staff members, who in turn notified police of the rape.