Nursing Assistant Held in Rape of Patient
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed a rape charge Tuesday against a certified nursing assistant who allegedly raped a 34-year-old comatose woman at a Reseda convalescent hospital.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Lee Harris said the nursing assistant, Guillermo Rivera, 19, of Van Nuys, will be arraigned this week on the charge, which stems from an incident Sunday afternoon at Reseda Arms Convalescent Hospital.
Los Angeles Police Detective Stan Miller said other employees of the hospital discovered Rivera in the patient’s room about 1:40 p.m.
Rivera is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail at the West Valley police station in Reseda.
Harris, head of the district attorney’s nursing home and dependent care section, said a charge of criminal negligence may be filed against Reseda Arms. A spokeswoman for the hospital refused to comment on the case.
Harris said Rivera was hired as a certified nursing assistant and that his duties included cleaning patients, changing sheets and emptying bed pans.
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