More charges were filed on Friday in a sexual assault case involving a UNC Rex nurse.
Brayan Alvarez-Ortiz, 28, appeared in court for the first time on Thursday, when a third person came forward.
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On Thursday, he was charged with four counts of sexual contact under context of medical treatment, second-degree forcible sex offense, four counts of first-degree kidnapping and four counts of sexual battery.
On Friday, he was charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual contact under context of medical treatment and two counts of sexual battery.
Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim is asked to call Raleigh police at 919-996-2000 or contact CrimeStoppers at 919-996-1193 or leave an anonymous tip by visiting raleighcrimestoppers.org.
Those who want information about the case can call UNC Rex at 919-784-1800, and someone will contact them as soon as possible to discuss any concerns, the hospital said.
During his first court appearance on Thursday, state prosecutors said they had already authorized additional charges for Alvarez-Ortiz and asked the courts to hold him without bond. He is expected to be back in court on Dec. 31 at 9 a.m.
Prosecutors said the first two victims were in different units. "They had undergone surgery and were in the recovery room from these surgeries when they were sexually assaulted."
UNC Rex has not specified which unit Alvarez-Ortiz was assigned to. UNC Health spokesman Alan Wolfe said, "As part of our ongoing investigation, we continue to review this individual’s activities while employed by Rex."
A crime often underreported
Police expect other victims may come forward.
It is a crime that is often underreported, according to Michael Sindoni, physician attorney with Edwards Kirby, LLP, who has handled civil cases involving similar accusations against doctors, massage therapists and other service providers.
"It's happening, but it's not always being reported by patients or their families," he said. "People are just not talking about it because they're embarrassed or because they're not sure that something bad actually happened."
Lisa Lanier, an attorney for one of the victims, said it is not uncommon for cases like these to have multiple victims.
"It's called cluster litigation," Lanier said. "We’ve had as many as 65 people in one case that have been victimized in an institutional situation where it was a school.”
Lanier said once she heard about what happened to the victim, she immediately thought there were likely more. She said it takes a lot of courage for victims to come forward in situations like this.
So, Lanier said she tries to support them, lift them up and thinks of them as survivors.
“For them to come forward takes so much courage, and especially here, where it looks like the victims were men,” Lanier said.
Civil damages possible in case of alleged nurse assault
Sindoni said that families of victims could also pursue a civil case against the nurse or the hospital.
"For civil cases," he said, "you can bring actions against the actual nurse, of course, that's obvious, but also against the hospital. And the purpose is that we can get money to help with medical expenses, therapy, counseling costs, lost wages, even pain and suffering in a lot of cases, so all the victims and as well as their families, can have a potential claim from these events."
He pointed out that the hospital bears responsibility for those employed on the front-line of care.
"The patients came to the hospital. They hope the hospital is going to provide good care," Sindoni said.
"There's an entire administrative body within a hospital to make sure nurses provide safe and effective care for their patients," he pointed out.
Sindoni said patients in hospitals are in a vulnerable situation, and hospitals need to be on top of what their personnel are up to.
"They are not always concious," Sindoni continued. "They may not always know what kind of care they are receiving. They rely on the hospital to have a whole body of people to make sure the care is safe."
Alleged assault, UNC Rex response
In a statement released on Thursday, UNC health officials said providing high-quality care in a safe environment is always their top priority.
"We take all allegations of inappropriate and illegal behavior seriously. UNC Health does not tolerate behavior that jeopardizes the safety or trust of our patients, teammates or community. We are outraged by the nature of these allegations. Our hearts are with the patients involved and their families. In this specific situation, after UNC Health Rex received one patient's complaint, we immediately began an investigation into this individual. We then reported the allegations to the N.C. Board of Nursing, terminated this individual and cooperated with Raleigh PD in its investigation. We continue to conduct our own investigation into these allegations and this individual's actions, in cooperation with Raleigh PD."UNC Health
Documents related to the case show the alleged assaults happened on Monday, Nov. 3, and a patient reported the alleged offense on Nov. 19.
Police said the victim reported that a nurse had sexually assaulted them while they were under the effects of sedatives.
UNC Rex also filed a complaint with the NC Nursing Board.
Alvarez-Ortiz was fired Nov. 25, and his nursing license was suspended the next day, on Nov. 26.
During their investigation, police said officers identified a second victim connected to the case.
Alvarez-Ortiz was arrested Dec. 10. Records show he is a Mexican citizen.