“She Realized That Something Wasn’t Right’: Medical Worker Allegedly Sexually Assaulted Sedated Patient

A medical worker in Arizona was arrested Wednesday for sexually assaulting a female patient while she was under sedation more than six months ago, a crime that police say he has admitted to.  

Police in Scottsdale took 38-year-old Xavier Perez into custody on Wednesday on sexual assault charges following months of investigation into claims that Perez had sexually assaulted a woman while working at Integrated Pain Consultants, a pain management clinic, Scottsdale’s Fox 10 reports. Police began investigating after responding to a report on June 25, 2018 from a 48-year-old woman who said that she’d been treated for back pain at the clinic but, as she regained consciousness in a recovery room, came to suspect that something was amiss, according to the outlet.

“She realized that something wasn’t right, that she was being sexually assaulted. Obviously when you’re coming out of sedation, you’re foggy so we were trying to put that together but she just knew something wasn’t right,” Officer Kevin Watts, of the Scottsdale Police Department, told AZFamily.com.

Police say DNA evidence connects Perez, who was responsible for moving the alleged victim to a room where she could recover after treatment, to the alleged assault, according to the outlet.

Police say that Perez initially claimed that he did not remember interacting with his accuser; he also said that the patient took his hand and guided it to her genitalia, at which point he pulled his hand back, AZCentral.com reports. He later admitted to touching the woman’s genitalia underneath her clothing after watching surveillance footage with police, video which police say did not show the patient moving during the encounter but did show that Perez had drawn the privacy curtain around the patient, partially blocking her from the camera’s view, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

Perez continued to work at Integrated Pain Consultants leading up to his arrest, with a representative of the company telling AZFamily.com that he was allowed to do so because police initially did not find any evidence that he’d done anything wrong.

“At that time, an investigation had taken place by Scottsdale authorities and video surveillance had been reviewed in detail. Scottsdale police found no evidence of assault, which led the executive team to make the decision Xavier Perez would remain employed,” their statement reads.

Police have confirmed that Perez is currently still in police custody, according to AZFamily.com. He is facing once count of sexual abuse and one count of sexual assault, according to online arrest records.

While Perez did admit to sexually assaulting one victim, he categorized it as a one-time incident, according to Fox 10. However, Perez worked at several clinic locations, and authorities believe that there may be more victims, the station reports. Anyone with any information on the case is encouraged to contact Scottsdale Police at (480) 312-5000.