MURRAY, Utah -- The victim of an alleged sexual assault that occurred at a hospital in April is still awaiting the results of the investigation, and she said she wants her alleged attacker held accountable.
Fox 13 doesn't normally name victims in sexual assault investigations, but 26-year-old Meghan Wilson of Orem said she wants the world to know what happened to her.
Wilson has a rare disease called stiff person syndrome, which means she uses a wheelchair to get around. The disease causes her to have seizures, which can last for a few seconds or go on for hours. During those seizures Wilson can’t walk, talk or see; but she can hear and feel everything.
Wilson said she was being treated during a prolonged seizure at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray on April 19 when a male X-Ray technician sexually assaulted her, believing Wilson to be in a coma. Wilson alleges the man fondled her private parts, and she said she could feel it but was powerless to make him stop.
“It's not like it happened once; it happened three times that the guy did it,” she said.
Wilson said she and her husband reported the incident, and both of them said hospital officials discouraged them from contacting authorities and wanted to handle the incident internally.
Intermountain Medical Center Spokesperson Jess Gomez released a statement earlier in response to the incident, which said: “Because of state and federal privacy laws, we cannot comment on specific patient information. However, whenever serious allegations are made, we take them very seriously and immediately involve local law enforcement officials and conduct a thorough investigation. The welfare and safety of our patients is always our utmost concern.”
Meghan Wilson claims she spoke to a high-ranking hospital official, and she said that official told her asking those questions was like "kicking a dead horse."
"But kick a dead horse? For someone in his position to say that to a patient that went through something like this blew my mind," she said.
Wilson said she would like an apology.
"You know; 'Hey we did wrong, and we apologize this happened to you.' But instead they keep playing defense. It's like they don't care," she said.
The Murray Police Department opened an investigation. Detectives said they are still working to interview those necessary. They also said evidence recovered, including surgical gloves from the room the alleged assault occurred in, has been sent to labs for testing, which takes some time. Wilson said the expected wait is agonizing.
"Yup, and it can take up to six months, that's the crappy part,” she said. “I have to be in agony for six months because of this guy."
Wilson said she hasn’t been feeling well since the incident, and she said she believes several recent hospitalizations are due to stress caused by the alleged assault.
Intermountain Medical Center officials said they do not discuss personnel issues, so Fox 13 was unable to determine whether the man Wilson accuses is still working at the hospital.
