Trial date set for Derry nurse accused of sexual abuse of patient in her 80s
Derry Crown Court has heard the case against a full time care nurse alleged to have sexually abused a female patient aged in her eighties who is ‘mentally incapacitated’ was based on the night time observations of an agency nurse.
Eoghan Devlin, King’s Counsel (KC), made the comment during the arraignment of Manoj John (49) from Sevenoaks Crescent in the Waterside area of Derry.
The defendant is charged with sexual activity by a care worker in that he is alleged to have intentionally touched a female patient in a sexual manner on September 18, 2023.
The defendant is also charged with sexual activity by a care worker by intentionally touching in a sexual manner a female patient with a mental disorder when he was involved in her care on the same date.
The defendant denies committing the offences when the woman, aged in her eighties, lived in a care home, the court was told.
Following the defendant's not guilty pleas at Derry Crown Court, Mr. Devlin told Judge Roseanne McCormick on Friday that ‘the alleged victim in this case has never made a statement and the case is predicated on the observations of another nurse, an agency nurse’.
"The incident is alleged to have occurred at night time and I have instructed an engineer to carry out a report for the defence following her night time examination,” said Mr. Devlin.
Judge McCormick set a provisional trial date for February 10 of next year and released the defendant on continuing bail.