Monrovia – A male Dietician at the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital in Monrovia has been apprehended and is currently said to be in the custody of the Liberia National Police after reportedly attempting to rape an unconscious patient who is being treated at Liberia’s premiere medical facility.
The girl whose name is being withheld by FrontPageAfrica to protect her privacy, reportedly signalled to doctors shortly after the incident took place Friday morning that a man came to her in the middle of the night, put his hands over her mouth and placed his hands between her legs.
FrontPageAfrica has been able to identify the suspect as only as Emmett Rogers. His mother reportedly also works in the hospital but in the laundry room.
A family source told FrontPageAfrica that the suspect, who works in the hospital’s kitchen as a dietician, initially entered the room to clear dirty dishes and left. But returned shortly afterwards.
It was then a source told FrontPageAfrica that the dietician turned the lights off in the room and proceeded to tamper with the patient.
When nurses noticed that the suspect had turned the lights off, they became suspicious and rushed to the room where they found him in a peculiar position before notifying administrators at the hospital.
Hospital sources tell a different story however, suggesting that an attempt was made but an actual rape did not take place and the accused has been dismissed and turned over to the Liberia National Police.
However, FrontPageAfrica has learned from multiple sources that sperm was found around the victim’s private parts.
When contacted Sunday, Police Spokesman Sam Collins told FrontPageAfrica: “We can confirm that the act took place, the Deputy Chief of Police for Women’s Protection has confirmed that the act took place and that the suspect is in custody.”
FrontPageAfrica has learned that there were three patients in the room where the alleged attempted rape took place, two, including the victim were unconscious and the other was conscious.
However, FrontPageAfrica has learned that the conscious patient was mysteriously removed from the room and the family of the victim was later told that she had been discharged only for her to be discovered in another room, down the hall of the hospital ward.
The rape victim reportedly is unable to speak but can express herself through signs. The dietician reportedly carried a plum and a soft drink to the patient when he proceeded to carry out the alleged act.
The patient expressing herself through signs informed nurses that a man came into the room and raped her. The man brought in plum and soft drink and proceeded to playing with her private parts. “She cannot talk but she understands well.”
The patient was asked whether a man came into the room and she responded in the affirmative. She was asked whether the man had her and she also responded in the affirmative.
When nurses proceeded to find the other patient in the room who was reportedly conscious, that patient was nowhere to be found and was later told that the patient had been discharged.
The father of the victim was reportedly told by staffers that the hospital was sorry the incident took place and for the embarrassment that has been caused.
An eyewitness who was privy to the discussion between the father and doctors Sunday told FrontPageAfrica that the father asked: “What embarrassment?”
Dr. Billy Johnson, Chief Medical Officer reportedly informed the father that there was an attempted rape on his daughter.
“We are sorry, we have arrested the guy, we did preliminary investigation and he is in the police cell,” Dr. Johnson reportedly told the father, whose name is also being withheld to protect the victim’s identity.
The father reportedly told the CMO that his main concern was how he could get his daughter out of the hospital and deal with the trauma under which they had put his daughter under.
Among the father’s primary concern is how did the other patient who was conscious and could have testified to what had happened disappeared temporarily?
“The patient that the nurse said had been discharged was not discharged but was found in another room on the floor of the hospital,” a source told FPA.
The victim’s father was informed that the entire ward on the floor where the incident took place were aware of what took place Friday night.
FrontPageAfrica has learned that another meeting is planned for Monday between the hospital administrators and the family.
The victim’s father told FrontPageAfrica that his entire family is aware of the incident and acknowledged that hospital staffers have been pleading with him on the matter.
Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]