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OREM — A staff worker at the Utah State Hospital was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting one of the patients under his care.
Jorge Alfredo Pardo, 46, of Orem, is charged in 4th District Court with rape, a first-degree felony.
On March 6, a woman who is at the hospital being treated for mental illness, according to charging documents, was found inside a locked utility closet.
"The victim was not supposed to be there and getting there from her unit would have required her to go through two locked doors, which can only be opened by employees." Police reviewed surveillance video and observed Pardo leading the woman into the closet and then going in with her, shutting the door and not leaving for seven to eight minutes, the charges state.
"When the victim was asked about what had happened, she said she didn't want to talk because she didn't want (Pardo) to get in trouble," according to the charges.
Pardo was also questioned and allegedly admitted to engaging in sexual intercourse with the woman in the closet, according to the charges. Prosecutors noted that, at the time of the incident, Pardo was "a psychiatric technician and was responsible for the victim's care, safety and well-being, placing him in a position of special trust with her."
The woman later "told the doctor that this had been happening over the span of approximately two months time," a police booking affidavit states.
