By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A former emergency department nurse at Banner University Medical Center was sentenced late last month to 30 days in jail for sexually abusing an incapacitated patient, sparking criticism from the community and victim’s family regarding the severity of the punishment.
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Jadd Sarah, a former registered nurse, pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual abuse. In addition to jail time, Sarah was sentenced to three years of probation and 50 hours of community service. He has also voluntarily surrendered his nursing license.
The abuse occurred in early February after a female patient was admitted to the Banner UMC emergency room for seizures.
According to court documents, the patient was connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) machine to track her brain activity. The machine included a camera intended for staff to monitor her condition from another room. But that camera instead captured something entirely different.
The interim complaint showed Sarah entered the victim’s room where it appears he was preparing her for an MRI.
While the victim was incapacitated by both her seizures and different medications, the complaint said Sarah undressed her above the waist, removing her bra.
The document then alleges Sarah fondled the victim’s breasts multiple times, even as she appeared to be having a seizure. At one point, the report said Sarah removed his mask and leaned down, appearing to place his mouth on the victim’s breast.
The victim later told police she felt the nurse touch and “pinch” her, but due to her medical state, she had no ability to resist.
According to police reports, Sarah confessed to the acts after being read his rights, telling officers he “screwed up.”
Sarah was initially arrested on multiple charges, including sexual abuse, aggravated assault and vulnerable adult abuse.
Prosecutors offered Sarah a plea deal, reducing the charges to one count of sexual abuse.
While court documents show Sarah could have faced up to 2 1/2 years behind bars, the absolute minimum sentence he faced if found guilty on all counts at trial was six months, according to the county attorney’s office.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover defended the resolution, explaining that under the current framework of the law, the evidence legally qualified as “unwanted touching.”
“It sounded like a sex assault had occurred, a rape, a molestation… and this was a touching,” Conover said. “I’m not minimizing this, but I think, you know, unfortunately in the world women are living in, I think it’s happening like in every bar across America every night… Like unwanted brief touching.”
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Conover went on to say, “Totally unacceptable, but you can see how if we had taken him to trial and we convicted him, maybe a 6-month sentence for an improper touching and then he’s free to go about his life after that.”
Conover said while the plea deal allows for a shorter jail sentence, it ensures long-term public safety.
“We chose not six months, only one month of jail, followed by a felony conviction, removal from the medical profession for life so this doesn’t happen to any other patient,” Conover said. “He’s going to be supervised. If he breathes the wrong way we have tools like lifetime sex offender registration. This is how we protect not only the victim who has been harmed, but we protect that ER, we protect patients, we protect the community, for life.”
While Sarah is legally eligible to reapply for his nursing license in three years, Conover stated that approval is highly unlikely.
Sarah began serving his 30-day sentence at the Pima County Jail on June 12.
While the criminal case is now resolved, the attorney for the victim said she is prepared to pursue civil legal action against Banner Health; but a lawsuit has not been filed yet.
The family’s civil attorney released a statement to 13 News that reads in part quote:
“… my client and her family were shocked by the minimal punishment that her attacker received in his criminal case. … [the victim] and her family do not believe that justice has been served in this case. In addition, Zanes Law, as the victim’s counsel, does not believe that Banner has sufficiently acknowledged its role in allowing the circumstances that led to the attack….”
It goes on to say… “In our opinion, Banner, a leader in the Tucson medical community, has not accepted responsibility for the harm caused by this attack and has not taken steps to make amends to the victim. Leaving our client to deal with this trauma with only her limited resources.”
13 News asked Banner Health if any new safety protocols have been implemented in the ER since February and if they have been in contact with the victim and her family. They declined to answer, instead directing us to their initial statement released shortly after Sarah’s arrest which reads in part:
“At Banner Health, we hold ourselves and every one of our team members to the highest standards of conduct and professionalism. Immediately upon learning of an incident that occurred at one of our facilities, we contacted law enforcement. The individual involved in the incident is no longer employed by Banner Health. We remain committed to ensuring a safe environment for every patient in our care.”
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