Man in wheelchair suspected in hospital sex assault

04:19 PM PST on Monday, November 3, 2008

By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News



Seattle Police Department

Seattle police are looking for this man who they suspect in the sexual assault of a patient at Swedish Hospital in Seattle on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008.

SEATTLE – Police are looking for a man in a wheelchair who they believe sexually assaulted a patient at Swedish Hospital early Saturday morning.

Seattle police say the suspect rolled into his victim’s room around 7 a.m. Saturday and sexually assaulted her as she lay in bed.

The rape wasn’t reported for five hours.

"That shouldn't happen in a hospital. People shouldn't be that vulnerable," said Sarah Davidson, who just had her baby at Swedish.

Police believe the suspect was a patient at the hospital and think he may be a transient because they can't find a record of his name.

They do have a photo of the suspect which they say came from a camera not located at Swedish. He is described as a Hispanic man in his 40’s wearing a sweater with horizontal red, blue, and green stripes. He was last seen in a motorized wheelchair, although he may be able to walk.

One veteran former staffer at Swedish says she has never heard of anything like this happening before, but other workers say there have been staffing cuts in recent years with fewer people on hand to take care of patients.

"It sounds like they need more security," said patient Sarah Stillion. "But, it's hard in a hospital with so many rooms and so many people coming in and out. I can understand that."

Police say the victim was in the hospital for a commonly performed procedure, but would not go beyond that.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Seattle Police Department Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5575, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIP

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