A woman in her 90s has reportedly been sexually assaulted in her hospital bed, but police say the suspect has already been released without charge.
The alleged victim in the case has Alzheimer’s disease and has not been able to provide gardaí in Ireland with a formal statement. Although the force is still investigating and originally arrested a man, he has now been released.
Officers say the suspect, a middle-aged man, was also a patient at the hospital at the time of the attack. He allegedly got into the pensioner’s hospital bed. He was stopped when another patient realised what was happening and pulled the man out of the bed, it has been reported.
Hospital staff also intervened and the suspect was removed from the hospital the following day, he was arrested by gardaí and questioned for hours. It is understood that the suspect claimed he was confused about the woman’s identity. He said he entered her bed and mistakenly thought she was a woman known to him.
Sources have described the investigation as “challenging and complex”. A garda spokeswoman said investigations were ongoing into “a report of a serious assault at” the hospital about 1am on Wednesday, December 18.
The name of the hospital is not being reported at this time, according to the Irish Independent. A Health Service Executive spokesman told the newspaper: “The hospital places great importance on the safety of patients, visitors and staff, and is fully co-operating with An Garda Síochána’s investigation. We are unable to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”
In April 2023, it was revealed that gardaí had investigated 142 incidents of sexual assaults in hospitals over the previous three years. A total of 12 patients were reported to have been sexually assaulted in Irish mental health facilities in 2022.
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