Hospital employee detained for alleged assault of minor
LUCEA, Hanover — A male staff member of the Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover was yesterday detained by the police for allegedly assaulting a minor.
The hospital employee, said to be an assistant nurse, is accused of inappropriate touching of a teenage girl Sunday night.
Police report that the girl, who is allegedly suffering from depression, was admitted to the hospital on May 19 after attempting suicide.
It’s understood that at age 10 she had reportedly been assaulted by a family member which may have led to her state of depression.
Head of the Hanover Police Division Superintendent Sharon Beeput confirmed receiving a report of the incident.
Investigations are currently being carried out by the Hanover branch of the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA).
Meanwhile, the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), in a press release last evening, said it has launched an internal investigation into the alleged molestation of the young female patient.
“WRHA and the Noel Holmes Hospital are fully cooperating with the Hanover Police Division, which has subsequently taken the employee into custody,” the release stated.
In the meantime, the WRHA said parents of the patient have been contacted and asked by the Regional Authority to take the child to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in order to continue the treatments and receive counselling.