A young patient filed a complaint on Wednesday, September 4, against a nurse who allegedly raped her while she was receiving heavy medication at the Sainte-Anne psychiatric hospital in Paris.
Alexis Llanos
Written on 06/09/2024
The 30-year-old patient had been hospitalized at the facility for three weeks — Screenshot – Google Street View
What happened in the heart of the Sainte-Anne hospital, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris? Behind the doors of the psychiatry department of this establishment, a 30-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a nurse, reports The ParisianThe victim filed a complaint on Wednesday, September 4.
The man arranged to be alone with the victim
The 30-year-old patient had been hospitalized in the facility for three weeks and was under heavy medication. The facts reported date back to the night of August 30 to 31, a little before 1 a.m. The accused nurse, also in his thirties, allegedly arranged for his partner to be absent when he went to the victim’s room, according to the latter.
The man then allegedly took her to another room without any surveillance system. There, he allegedly began to fondle and kiss her by force before raping her. The victim allegedly remained conscious throughout the incident, but claims to have been “too exhausted” et “without force” to be able to resist because of her treatment. She also told the police officers who took her complaint that the man had not used a condom.
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The hospital is “at the disposal of justice”
For the time being, it is the Brigade of Delegations of Local Investigations which is in charge of the complaint. The latter is taken “very seriously by the institution” indicated the Paris University Hospital Group Psychiatry & Neurosciences (GHU) which includes Sainte-Anne Hospital. The alleged attacker’s missions have all been cancelled and an internal investigation has been launched by the hospital, which says it is “at the disposal of justice”.
The victim’s relatives had tried to have the Sainte-Anne hospital recognised as responsible before the Paris administrative court but were refused. “If (…) public sector employees are not financially liable to these communities for the harmful consequences of their service errors, this cannot be the case when the harm they have caused to these communities is attributable to personal errors, separate from the exercise of their functions” the magistrates had then declared.
Other cases in the same establishment and elsewhere
This is unfortunately not the first case to be deplored in this establishment. In 2016, a 19-year-old patient who was heavily sedated had already been sexually assaulted by a night nurse. The young woman had told the police that she had felt “petrified”, “tetanized”. She took her own life a year and a half later. The nurse was sentenced five years later to five years in prison, two of which were suspended.
And these facts are not limited to Sainte-Anne hospital. In July 2023, a vulnerable 50-year-old patient was allegedly assaulted in her room at another Parisian establishment, Sainte-Périne. Her mother and legal guardian filed two complaints, including one against the hospital management, which she claims has taken no measures since the events to protect her daughter.
Sexual assaults: what are the psychological consequences for children? — Le Mag de la Santé – France 5
