Nurse Accused Of Sexually Abusing His Patients
BOWIE, Md. (WJZ) -- Breach of trust. A nurse faces criminal charges after police say he touched patients sexually and forced them to touch him.
Investigator Mike Hellgren has more on where he worked.
He got around as a traveling nurse. In Maryland, he worked at the Bowie Health Center. The state suspended his nursing license after allegations there. He also worked at several Washington, D.C. hospitals, including George Washington University.
A warning--the allegations are graphic.
Nurse Jared Kline would not talk, then hid behind a sign after leaving court, facing charges he fondled patients and asked them to touch him inappropriately.
"He's got no comment at this time," said Kline's lawyer.
Police say the abuse happened in both Washington, D.C. and Bowie. At the Bowie Health Clinic, a patient claims he rubbed against her while inserting an IV.
The clinic's parent company said in a statement he was not their employee. They contracted him through a nursing agency.
"At the time of his hire, his background check had no discrepancies... As soon as the complaint was brought to our attention, he was terminated and not allowed to return to any of our facilities."
At three D.C. hospitals, Kline is accused of more inappropriate touching, including a woman who says he began to massage her body. Another says he touched her buttocks.
Police say there could be more victims.
"They may or may not have been aware of it or they may not have really understood what was going on," said Commander George Kucik, Washington, D.C. Police.
Breaches of trust among medical professionals are especially troubling.
There have been several high profile ones in Maryland, including Hopkins gynecologist Nikita Levy, who authorities say used pen cameras to spy on women during exams, and traveling technician David Kwitakowski, who infected dozens of patients with Hepatitis C after using their needles on himself first.
"A contractual worker can walk in with the same duties as an employee and not be checked out. That doesn't make sense to me," said Linwood Nelson, technician's victim.
As for nurse Kline, he's on electronic monitoring until a court appearance next month.
Police say Kline's victims are all adults. The incident in Bowie happened back in January.
The hospitals involved all say they are working with police in the ongoing investigation.
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