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Police investigate sexual assault report at Elgin hospital

Elgin police are investigating a report of a criminal sexual assault by a staff member against a patient at Presence St. Joseph Hospital.

The male victim went to the police station Tuesday to file the report, and claims a male staff member, whom he identifies as a security guard, assaulted him Saturday night into early Sunday.

The assailant went into the victim's room and demanded the victim perform a sexual act on him, threating to put the victim in the "quiet room," the report states.

The assailant then demanded the victim perform a sexual act on himself, and went into the victim's room multiple times to ensure his demand was being met, the report states.

Hospital spokeswoman Barbara Fallon said she couldn't comment on the allegations.

"We throughly investigate any complaints of any inappropriate behavior," she said.

The victim was in the hospital because of a suicide attempt following the "outing" of his HIV status on Facebook, the report states.

The victim told the Daily Herald that hospital staff members refused to allow him to make a police report, which he made after he was discharged. He declined further comment.

Elgin police were told by hospital officials that an internal investigation was being conducted, the report states.

The report states that the victim told his parents about the assault Monday. They reported it to the hospital and believed the assailant was placed on leave, the report states.

Fallon said she couldn't comment on staff matters.

Elgin Police Cmdr. Dan O'Shea declined to comment on the department's investigation.

The report states a hospital staff member told police there is no security guard whose name matches the one given by the victim.

However, the assailant is not a security guard, said David McGill of Lake in the Hills, also a patient at the hospital. He said he didn't know the man's job title. "All I know is he did rounds," he said.

McGill said he saw the assailant go into the victim's room multiple times on the night in question. McGill also said he was present the next night, Sunday, when staff members told the victim he could not call police to report the assault.

"They said they could call the security guard but could not call police at the time," he said.

On Monday, McGill said, he was present when staff members "recanted" what they previously said, and told the victim he could make a police report only during regular business hours, after talking to a social worker.

Hospital staff members met with McGill as part of their investigation, McGill said.

"They said they were investigating this person," he said.

McGill said all 911 calls from the hospital's mental health floor are rerouted to ring internally. He also said the phones in patients' rooms are turned off overnight.

Fallon said she couldn't immediately verify that.

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