Judge allows viewing of hospital surveillance video in case against ex-nurse
A DuPage County judge Tuesday was forced to weigh the privacy rights of hospital patients against a defendant's rights to a fair trial as he allowed hospital surveillance video to be used in a case involving a former nurse.
The former nurse at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Mark Luis, is charged with nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images and computer tampering after prosecutors say he accessed nude photos on a patient's phone and sent them to himself.
In preparing for the case, a search warrant ordered the seizure of eight hours of video surveillance from the hospital's mental health facility.
According to court documents, the video contains images of individuals, unrelated to the charges filed against Luis, entering and exiting the facility. The surveillance video also shows uninvolved patients approaching the nurse's station and in several other areas of the facility.
Hospital attorney Jennifer Russell sought a protective order to prevent release of the video, saying it violates the privacy rights of those patients seeking drug treatment and mental health care. Her motion asserts the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act prohibits disclosure of images on the disk.
But Assistant State's Attorney Shanti Kulkarni argued that he was unsure of any previous cases where a third party, such as Central DuPage Hospital, was able to act as a "gatekeeper" to potential witnesses.
Judge Brian Telander ruled the disk or drive containing the video must be held in a secure space within the state's attorney's office and be viewed only by prosecutors involved in the case, potential witnesses and Luis and his attorney, Earl Vergara.
Both the prosecution and defense must get permission from the court to interview anyone depicted in the video. And 45 days after the case's resolution, the video must either be destroyed or returned to the hospital.
Prosecutors say the victim was at Central DuPage Hospital on Nov. 12, 2016, when she entered her password and used her cellphone in front of Luis.
While at the hospital, the victim was not allowed to have her phone with her for a brief time and left it at a nurses' station.
Prosecutors said Luis removed the phone from the station, entered the victim's password and sent more than 60 images and six videos of the victim to his personal phone.
When the victim returned home, she discovered the photos and videos were sent from her phone to a number she did not know.
Luis is free on $150,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 5.