Hospital nurse caught by another employee allegedly taking selfie with unconscious patient

A male nurse now faces sex assault charges after another Grand Junction hospital employee allegedly caught him using a cellphone to take a photo of himself with an unconscious patient.

Christopher Lambros, 61, appeared in Mesa County Court on Friday and was advised of three more sex-related charges brought against him in addition to the three he was arrested for last month.  

Dan Rubenstein, District Attorney for the 21st Judicial District of Colorado, told the judge "We are likely to be filing more charges down the road as we identify more victims," according to CBS affiliate KREX. The original investigation into Lambros's improprieties spanned late April of this year until the above incident was reported in July. But Rubenstein, according to KREX, told the court that more evidence is coming in and investigators are now looking as far back as 2016. 

The arrest affidavit in the case was signed Oct. 25. It shows three victims at that time.

A Grand Junction Police Department detective was called to St. Mary's Medical Center the evening of July 9 on a report of misconduct, as described in the affidavit. A hospital employee told him she went to check on a patient, pulled back the privacy curtain, and a female patient whose gown had been pulled up, exposing her torso. 

The witness said Lambros was posed with his head to the patient's stomach and his right arm extended toward her feet with a cellphone in that hand. She interpreted Lambros's position as "selfie-like."

The witness told the detective that Lambros dropped the phone on the bed, covered the patient with her gown and blanket, did something with medical equipment in the room, and then left. 

The employee notified her supervisor who in turn called police. 

A different Grand Junction officer went to Lambros's house with a search warrant for his phone. 

Evidence was found on the phone, including photos and videos of a man interacting sexually with unconscious females in a hospital setting. 

At the time of the search warrant's signing, Google had yet to provide evidence from the phone's Cloud. 

Lambros was taken into custody on Oct. 25 during a GJPD traffic stop.

One of his victims spoke in court Friday.

St. Mary's Medical Center released a statement to KREX: 
The safety of our patients is our highest priority, and we take matters such as this very seriously. We have zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior, and St. Mary's continues to fully cooperate with the Grand Junction Police Department in its investigation.
As previously stated, immediately following the reported concern, the hospital took swift action by placing Chris Lambros on administrative leave, removing his access to the hospital and patients, and reported the matter to local law enforcement. His employment was terminated immediately following his arrest by the Grand Junction Police Department.
Given there is a pending criminal investigation, we cannot offer further details about this matter. We can state that we are working closely with law enforcement to ensure our patients are protected from anyone who intends to cause harm, and our caregivers are focused on delivering the highest quality care possible.  

Lambros remains jailed on a $250,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled to return to court Dec. 2.

UPDATE: "Why me?:" Alleged victims of Grand Junction nurse accused of sexual assault speak out