Overview
- State prosecutors say a Suffolk County grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging former nurse John Tam with four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a patient by a health care provider.
- Investigators say the charges stem from two alleged incidents at Boston Children’s Hospital in which teenage patients were sexually assaulted after surgery while recovering from anesthesia.
- Prosecutors described security video that allegedly shows Tam wheeling a patient into a single-stall bathroom and leaving about nine minutes later and allege one victim was assaulted for roughly eight minutes while a parent was briefly out of sight.
- Authorities have named Tam’s prior workplaces, including Beth Israel Deaconess and UMass Memorial campuses, and are urging parents to contact the Suffolk DA’s Child Protection Unit or the Children’s Advocacy Center with information about possible additional victims.
- Hospitals named in the probe say they are cooperating with investigators but are limiting public comment because of pending litigation, and advocates are calling for stronger training and prevention measures at institutions that serve minors.