According to a class action lawsuit filed Dec. 20, two patients claim they were drugged, sexually assaulted and photographed by a nurse at a Colorado hospital system. According to the lawsuit, the nurse’s cellphone contains four terabytes of data, including 700,000 photos and 65,000 hours of video, concerning his “drugging, sexual touching (and) sexual penetration” of patients.
The nurse, Christopher Lambros, 61, worked at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, and was arrested on Oct. 25 on a warrant for three sexual assault counts. Grand Junction is about 240 miles southwest of Denver.
According to the arrest warrant, police began investigating Lambros after another hospital employee reported seeing him photograph a patient’s genitals.
In the lawsuit, Lambros is accused of administering medication to make two alleged victims unconscious before exposing them naked and sexually touching them while he recorded himself. The plaintiffs were not identified.
According to Mesa County, Colorado, district attorney Daniel P. Rubinstein, Lambros has been charged with incidents involving two victims, but there are four victims in total, three of whom have already been identified.
According to the statement, the case will be discussed again in January, as the DA is still investigating. “We cannot comment on what evidence we have, or speculate on what we might find.”
In the lawsuit, Lambros is accused of drugging and assaulting one of the victims twice while she was in the intensive care unit. When she awoke from her unconscious state on July 2, she had “foggy memories” of the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Despite telling people around her – including hospital employees and family members – that Lambros was a “bad man,” she didn’t discover the alleged assaults until months later after being released from the hospital.
As a result of the assault and invasion of her privacy, “(she) has suffered severe emotional distress”, according to the lawsuit. She is still paying about $905 per month toward a $32,000 medical bill from her stay at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
On July 9, Lambros assaulted the second victim and took photos and videos. An employee witnessed lambros photographing the patient and lying on her bare stomach, according to the lawsuit.
Lambros is heard whispering into the camera in a video from June 24 that investigators found on his cellphone, “Don’t ever get rid of these videos. You need to keep them forever. This is your Dexter collection.”
“Dexter” revolves around a serial killer who is an expert at spotting blood spatters.
According to the lawsuit, Lambros was able to drug and sexually assault patients due to the hospital system’s negligence.
Several employees should have noticed signs of sexual assault on the patients’ bodies, including bleeding, bruising and redness, as well as Lambros’ use of sedative medication, which he was not authorized to administer to patients.
The lawsuit also alleges that surveillance cameras placed in patient rooms should have caught his actions.
“Based on the large amount of data Lambros collected, it is clear he committed sexual misconduct and invasions of privacy on a regular basis,” the lawsuit claims.
“Given the frequency at which Lambros engaged in these acts, his conduct was or should have been apparent to Defendants St. Mary’s, SCL Health, and Intermountain.”
According to the lawsuit, St. Mary’s is a subsidiary of SCL Health and Intermountain Healthcare, which merged in April.
After allegations against Lambros were reported, SCL Health/Intermountain Healthcare placed him on administrative leave, and he was terminated from St. Mary’s Medical Center after his arrest.
“It is reprehensible what this former nurse is accused of and goes against everything that St. Mary’s Medical Center stands for,” Bryan Johnson, the center’s president, said. “In order to protect our patients from those who intend to harm them, we work closely with law enforcement. Patients put their trust in us and should feel safe in our care.”
Patients with questions or concerns can call a call center set up by the healthcare system, which said it was contacting “known victims” directly.
Plaintiffs are seeking damages in an amount to be determined, including pre- and post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees. Lambros’ alleged victims suffered losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, mental anguish, and emotional distress.
Those who were patients at the hospital and may have been exposed to Lambros between 2012 and 2022 are encouraged to contact Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC.
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office reports that Lambros is being held on a $1 million bond.