Nurse allegedly sexually abused elderly patients in a South Florida hospital

PLANTATION, Florida. – A nurse at a South Florida hospital is accused of sexually assaulting two patients in their 70s, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News Tuesday.

According to Broward Jail records, authorities arrested 45-year-old Emerson Jean over the weekend.

According to two arrest warrants, Jean, of Lauderdale Lakes, worked at HCA Florida Westside Hospital, 8201 W. Broward Blvd. in Plantation.

He is accused of sexually assaulting a 74-year-old woman in January and a 70-year-old woman last Tuesday. Both were hospitalized at the time, according to Plantation police.

In the first case, police said, Jean touched the 74-year-old’s genitals and breasts under the pretense of “cleaning” them. Police said Jean had no legitimate reason to touch the woman there.

The victim “stated that Emerson was trying to relax her through ‘masturbation,'” a Plantation detective wrote in an arrest warrant.

He stopped, police said, after the woman said she was in pain.

According to police, Jean kissed her on the forehead and told the woman she was “beautiful.”

Regarding the sexual abuse, the woman told investigators that Jean “told her not to say anything because he could get fired” and that “it would be better next time,” according to the warrant.

The woman told police that two or three days before the abuse, she heard another patient “screaming” from another room. The other woman tried to call the police “because she felt sexually harassed,” the arrest warrant states.

According to police, the woman was later released from the hospital and never called authorities.

Afterwards, according to police, the 74-year-old told investigators that Jean realized he “no longer had to take care of the other patient” and said “he was the one who sexually harassed her.”

Police questioned the second patient last Wednesday, a day after she said she had been attacked, the arrest warrant said.

The 70-year-old woman told police that she was lying on her side in her hospital bed due to pain in her “belt line” when Jean entered her room and whispered in her ear, asking if she was “in pain and awake,” the second arrest warrant states.

When she answered in the affirmative, Jean, according to the arrest warrant, although he is not authorized to perform medical examinations, insisted on “examining her groin area,” whereupon he pulled down her pajama shorts and touched her genitals.

According to police, Jean “held” the woman’s left wrist, causing her to begin crying but unable to call for help or press the call button.

The woman told police she felt as if Jean was “having sex with me using his fingers,” the arrest warrant states.

“I’m an old woman. Why is he doing this to me?” she told investigators in tears, police said.

According to police, the woman was in shock, frightened and suffering “severe pain due to the sexual abuse.” The doctor reported the incident to a doctor who came to her room to check on her condition. He immediately left the room to report what had happened.

Police said a male nurse and a male nurse then came into the room, and as they were telling them what had happened, Jean also came in.

The nurse “jumped up,” went to Jean and told him sternly that he was never allowed to approach “that patient” again, the arrest warrant states.

As the nurse escorted Jean out of the room, the victim heard Jean say, “She wanted me to check her out,” police said. He was later placed on leave.

Authorities arrested Jean on Saturday on two counts of sexual assault of a helpless person and assault of a person over 65. He is also accused of false imprisonment.

He has been held without bail at Broward Main Jail since Tuesday, and records show he also has an immigration detention center open against him.

Local 10 News has contacted a hospital spokesperson for comment on the arrest.