Anesthesiologist pleads guilty to drugging, sexually abusing family nanny after she sets up hidden camera to record him
An anesthesiologist in New York state pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually abusing his family's nanny while she was asleep in his home, authorities said.
Paul Giacopelli, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Putnam County Judge Anthony Molé after being indicted by a grand jury in March, the county's district attorney said in a news release.
Giacopelli's attorney, Steven Gaitman, said his client "assumed responsibility for his crimes, and now is focused on tending to his family."
According to court papers, the victim was employed taking care of Giacopelli's children at his home in the Putnam County town of Southeast and sometimes worked overnight shifts when Giacopelli was on call for the local hospital.
She told investigators that on four occasions in late 2023 she fell asleep, woke up to a rag being held over her face, smelled chemicals and blacked out.
The woman set up a hidden camera to record her assailant on Dec. 29, 2023. After sensing a rag over her face and blacking out, she awoke and viewed the contents of the camera.
Video clips recorded by the camera showed Giacopelli assaulting the victim, prosecutors said.
The woman brought the video clips to law enforcement officials, and Giacopelli was taken in for questioning by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
Keith Simone, an investigator from the sheriff's office, told the grand jury that Giacopelli confessed to filling a rag with Sevoflurane, an anesthetic agent, and covering the woman's mouth and nose to render her unconscious.
He confessed to sexually assaulting the woman after she blacked out and said he had a "chloroform fetish," Simone testified.
Giacopelli told investigators that the victim was an easy target because she was a "heavy sleeper," Simone said.
Simone said Giacopelli admitted bringing drugs home from the hospital. Fentanyl and other drugs were found in the home, Simone testified.
"The victim's cooperation with the investigation and prosecution, and her bravery and willingness to testify resulted in the defendant's guilty plea," the Putnam County District Attorney's office said.
The state Board for Professional Medical Conduct barred Giacopelli from practicing medicine following his arrest.
Giacopelli faces four years in state prison with post release supervision for up to 10 years and he must register as a sex offender, said the district attorney, who praised Assistant DA Melissa Lynch for prosecuting the case.
"I'm very proud of the work of the Sheriff's Department and ADA Lynch; but I'm mostly proud of the victim's courage in going through this process which led to the defendant's arrest and conviction," District Attorney Robert Tendy said in a statement.