Court Records: Nursing Assistant at Cedars May Have Sexually Assaulted Patients

A nursing assistant who worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting two patients while they were heavily medicated and too weak to resist, according to court records and interviews reported today.

The women came forward separately last year and gave Los Angeles police similar accounts about how a male employee assaulted them while they were being treated at the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Detectives served a search warrant at Cedars-Sinai earlier this year to obtain disciplinary records for Guillermo Fernando Diaz, a nursing assistant who had been assigned to a heart patient area. Diaz, 56, was fired in July, according to the hospital. He declined to speak to The Times.

A district attorney's spokeswoman said prosecutors are reviewing whether to file criminal charges.

In November, the state's Department of Public Health revoked Diaz's nursing assistant certification after conducting an investigation into the sexual assault allegations, The Times reported. In a letter informing Diaz of its decision, the agency said it had substantiated multiple allegations of unprofessional conduct.

One woman who said she was sexually assaulted said she remains traumatized, according to The Times.

During the LAPD probe, a detective discovered two older sexual assault accusations by patients against Diaz -- one dating back 14 years --- as well as a decade-old complaint by a co-worker who claimed Diaz raped her after an office party, according to The Times. None of those cases resulted in criminal charges.

--City News Service