Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hospital groper sentenced to 16 to 36 months in prison

A hospital groper was sentenced to a prison term of 16 months to 3 years for groping a woman he didn't know in a Lansing, MI hospital. 52 year old Rochester Terrell, a felon with prior convictions for retail fraud and posession of a gun by a felon, was sentenced as a habitual offender Wednesday, June 23 in Ingham County Circuit Court.

It was the afternoon of March 4, the woman recalled. She had gone to the emergency room because of a blood sugar problem and eventually was transferred to a private room. She was starting to drift off to sleep when 52-year-old Rochester Terrell - wearing a leather jacket over a collared shirt and dress pants - walked up to her bed and offered her the gold-and-yellow box of chocolates. "I told him, 'no, I'm a diabetic,' " she recalled.

Discreetly, so he wouldn't see, she tried to press the button that would call a nurse. But instead, the television changed channels. "I kept asking him who he wanted to see, and he said: 'Just anybody,' " the woman said.Eventually, the woman said Terrell touched her inappropriately and then tried to lift up her dress. At that point, she didn't care if he saw her press the button to call the nurse.

The victim told the nurse to "get in the room real quick." Terrell looked at the victim and asked "Why?" before packing up his stuff and leaving. Hospital security apprehended Terrell and handed him over to police.

The incident has called into question Sparrow Hospital's security.  A task force has recommended changes to the hospital's procedures. Hospital spokesman John Berg said "We're asking associates to ask questions, ask people if they are visiting, to check in and get a visitor's badge."

"Our security has a fairly active presence. The question is, how do we improve that?"

No comments: