Surgery patient says he was sexually assaulted

St. Vincent's Healthcare sued over assault claims

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Surgery can be a difficult time for patients in the hospital and caregivers are supposed to be there to help with the healing process.

Unfortunately after getting out of surgery at St. Vincent's Medical Center, White Springs resident Neal, who asked that only his first name be used, said that instead of being helped by hospital workers, he was sexually assaulted.

He said that even after he told staff members what happened, they didn't do enough to keep him safe.

Neal said the attack happened in November 2012, when he was 57 years old.  He is now suing St. Vincent's Healthcare, where he says his attacker worked.

Neal was a former law enforcement officer recovering from a triple bypass and neck surgery and had just gotten out of the ICU.

Weak and alone at the time, he said patient care technician Marwil Cenido came to give him a sponge bath and then sexually assaulted him.

"Things like that are not supposed to happen. You're not supposed to be assaulted when you go in the hospital to have things done to help you," Neal said.

Neal claims that he told a nurse what happened, and she let her supervisor know, but they left him alone, and the man came back in the room again.

Neal says he had to take matters into his own hands and get out of bed and leave.

"The nurse met me halfway down the hallway and said, 'You shouldn't be up by yourself.' And I said, 'I am not staying in there.' And I went around her and went on to the nurse's station," Neal said.

That's when staff at the medical center called police.

"To you have these things happen and worse, then reported to hospital employees and have them abandon him, leave him, and allow this man back into the room after-the-fact, is unbelievable. Not to immediately call the police is unbelievable. For hospital employees not to stay there and to protect him is unbelievable," said Neal's attorney, Tom Edwards.

Records show Cenido was arrested and fired but according to documents, there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute him.

"My family has suffered as much as I have. They deserve as much a right as I do to face this person or these people and say these things cannot be allowed to happen," Neal said.

News4Jax tried to reach Cenido to get his side of the story, but could not find a local address or phone number for him.

Neal's attorney said Cenido was not a U.S. citizen and he believes that he left the country.

A spokesperson for St.Vincent's sent a response to News4Jax:

"St. Vincent's takes patient safety seriously. We conduct rigorous background checks on all employees. We reported the alleged incident to police and terminated the employee in question after his arrest. After investigation, we understand the State Attorney's Office has dropped the case. Due to patient privacy laws we are unable to discuss specifics, however we remain concerned about the allegations in this case and take them very seriously."