Hospital Sued for Leaking Information to Woman’s Alleged Rapist

Atchison Hospital in Kansas where a victim of rape was treated. (Screenshot/Google Street View)

A woman in Kansas filed a lawsuit on May 8 against a local hospital claiming that one of its staff leaked her personal health information to her alleged rapist who later attacked her a second time.

The lawsuit is filed against the Atchison Hospital in northeastern Kansas and one of its former X-ray technicians, Janet Rawson Enzbrenner, reported NBC News.

The plaintiff, whose identity will not be disclosed in this report, alleges she was sexually assaulted on May 27, 2017, and had a rape kit administered by hospital staff, according to the civil complaint cited by NBC News.

A rape kit is a sexual assault forensic exam that preserves possible DNA evidence that can help to provide appropriate medical care to the victim, according to the Rainn.org.

During the course of medical care, the woman disclosed the name of her alleged attacker to Enzbrenner.

The civil action filed by the plaintiff’s attorney, Trevor Wohlford  says that Enzbrenner “gained access to plaintiff’s individually identifiable health information” and then contacted the plaintiff’s alleged assailant and “advised the man that [the] plaintiff had accused him of sexual assault.”

The woman mentioned that during the course of the next few months, the alleged rapist continuously harassed her through “text messages, social media, and phone calls,” and sexually assaulted her again on Nov. 4, 2017.

Hospital’s Response

Just two days before the second alleged assault, the victim wrote a letter about the breach of privacy to the hospital’s CEO, John Jacobson, who replied: “This employee ... did access some of your health information and apparently did disclose it to another individual without your permission.”

Atchison County Attorney told NBC News on Friday that no charges had been filed in regard to the alleged rapes. Prosecutors have declined to elaborate on why.

The reasons behind whether and how Enzbrenner knew the alleged rapist are also not clear.

“While we are limited with what we can share related to this situation, we are deeply disturbed by the actions of this former employee,” Jacobson said.

“In fact, when we were made aware of the situation, we took immediate steps to investigate, and within two days, we terminated this individual’s employment.”

Woman Sexually Assaulted on Flight

An Indian tourist who sexually assaulted a woman while she was asleep on a flight from Mumbai to Manchester was sentenced to one year in prison on May 9.

Hardeep Singh, 35, a native of Hoshiarpur in India’s north, was traveling to the United Kingdom on a six-month tourist visa, reported the Daily Mail.

The incident happened in February this year when he got on a Manchester-bound flight and sat next to a woman in her twenties.

Singh tried to be friendly with the woman and tried to engage her in a conversation, but the woman felt uncomfortable.

As the lights went off and everyone including the cabin crew and the victim fell asleep, Singh sexually assaulted the woman who woke up horrified.

The assault lasted for about 15 minutes after which the woman was able to escape and report the matter to the cabin crew who was to isolate the man from all women for the rest of the flight.

Singh was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault as he disembarked from the flight at Manchester airport.

“From the outset of the flight, Singh’s behavior was despicable,” Detective Constable Catherine Evans of GMP’s Airport Team told Daily Mail.

Evans said that Singh took advantage of the woman being unaccompanied. “He began to invade her personal space, pestering her and making unwanted physical contact, despite the passenger making it clear she did not want to engage him in conversation,” she said.

She said Singh waited for the right time.

“Waiting until the woman and surrounding passengers were asleep, Singh subjected the woman to a prolonged sexual assault, forcibly restraining her when she tried to move away,” she said.

“Numbed with fear, it was only after she summoned the strength to overpower him that she was able to run away and raise the alarm,” Evans said.

Singh was jailed for a year on Thursday at the Minshull Street Crown Court and will be deported to India once released.

“We’re pleased with today’s sentence and hope the woman can move forward knowing that he’s behind bars. We hope the courage of this woman and this positive court result encourages other victims to come forward and report incidents of sexual assault to police,” Evans said.