This article appeared in the Sun Sentinel.
An ultrasound technician sexually assaulted a patient last month, then asked a co-worker to lie to cover his tracks, according to a police report.
Ivo Diaz Jr., 41, was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts of sexual battery of a patient during an examination at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, police said.
On May 30, Diaz broke hospital rules that require a female employee to be in the room when a man examines a female patient, police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said.
The Miami man assaulted the woman during the examination, Sousa said. The victim left the hospital crying and returned with her boyfriend that same day to file a complaint, according to the arrest report.
One of Diaz’s co-workers, Shantille Lewis, said in the report that Diaz left the hospital as soon as he heard the allegations. Diaz called Lewis a few minutes later and asked her to say she was in the examination room with him and the victim. Lewis said that “she could not lie for him,” according to the report.
The next day Diaz was fired for not keeping his technician certification up to date, police said. A spokeswoman for Holy Cross Hospital declined to comment on whether his firing was related to the accusations. Diaz worked at the hospital for three years.
The hospital released a statement Thursday regarding the case:
“Holy Cross Hospital is committed to the care and safety of its patients. The individual involved is no longer employed by the hospital and we are cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation.”
A Miami woman said Diaz is the same man she sued for fondling her while she was a patient in the emergency room of South Miami Hospital in 2003, her lawyer, Spencer Aronfeld, said.
“She went through quite a battle to assert her rights,” he said. “I’m sympathetic to what this victim is going through.”
Court documents show that a woman, then 24, sued both Diaz and South Miami Hospital in September 2004. The woman agreed to a settlement and the case was dismissed, Aronfeld said.
“It’s unforgivable,” Aronfeld said. “How could Holy Cross hire him?”
Diaz was taken to the Broward Main Jail on Tuesday and released Thursday on $15,000 bail, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
