Jailed nurse claims patient flirted with him
A twice-fired nurse accused of groping groggy female patients wrote in his nursing notes that an incident involved a medicated patient who flirted with him and called him a "lover" while she was having a dream, according to Nebraska court records obtained by the Coloradoan.
The recently submitted documents, filed alongside two additional sex assault charges in Nebraska, also paint a clearer picture about the ways 43-year-old Thomas Mark Moore allegedly connected online with the women he treated, including one patient — a suicidal woman — whom he sent a selfie and sexual comments to through Facebook Messenger.
Moore is charged with eight felony and three misdemeanor counts of sexual misconduct spanning Fort Collins to Greeley and, in the most recently charged instances, Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The Coloradoan previously reported on Moore's alleged misconduct and that he was able to keep his nursing license and gain new employment as a nurse at a hospital in Thornton, even after was fired from facilities in Nebraska and Colorado.
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The Nebraska filings from earlier this month further the understanding of Moore's alleged wrongdoing that lasted years across healthcare facilities and has only come to light after a woman stepped forward late last year in Fort Collins.
The two new Nebraska charges are on top of another count that previously made headlines. The previous Nebraska count dates to an encounter at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. A woman who was being treated in March 2014 for dehydration reported feeling "frozen" when she awoke to the nurse who went by "Tom" fondling her. She contacted Fort Collins police after seeing media reports about Moore's alleged wrongdoing. The Fort Collins detective also relayed information about another situation to Nebraska authorities.
In the latter, an approximately 26-year-old woman went to the hospital in February 2015 with her mother for treatment of a migraine. She was given medication and began to fall asleep, but she remembered Moore telling her mom that she could leave the room while he tended to her daughter.
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When the woman awoke, she said Moore was fondling her breasts and asked, "is this OK?" she told police. She fell back asleep, awoke moments later to Moore kissing her breasts, and then heard a knock on the door, prompting the man to stop. As she was discharged from the hospital, the woman remembered Moore telling her, "the medication that was given to you might cause you to hallucinate," court records show.
The drugs she was given, prochlorperazine and ketorolac, each have listed side effects of drowsiness and dizziness, police wrote. Moore documented his version of the encounter in his nursing notes from that day.
"When pt awakened by myself, she seems to think I am someone else. Pt calls me 'lover' and states 'I love you so much'! After 20 to 30 seconds, pt realizes she is still in hospital and states, 'I was having a weird dream, thought I was at home.'"
"Pt" is common medical shorthand for patient.
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In a separate instance, Moore was treating an approximately 18-year-old woman who was intoxicated and suicidal. The woman remembered the man groping her breasts, and she pushed his hands away. She was transferred to the behavioral health unit in January 2015. While she was there, Moore sent her Facebook messages, including a selfie and information about him being a nurse in Colorado, according to a Scottsbluff, Nebraska investigator.
He went on to tell the patient in a Facebook message: "Don't go out and get all ***** this weekend!!! As nice as your a-- is, I don't wanna see it here this weekend!! — You are such a beautiful lady, no one would deny that!!"
Investigators in Fort Collins reported Moore using Facebook in other interactions with patients, including when a Fort Collins woman when to Poudre Valley Hospital on Christmas Eve 2013. As the woman awoke after being prescribed pain medication, she observed Moore fondling her bare breasts and kissing her neck and chest. She laid there, hands at her side. When she reported the incident to police nearly two years later, said she felt like she should have done something.
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As she was being discharged from the hospital, Moore escorted her out and reportedly said "I'll find you, Sweetie." A few days later, she received a Facebook friend request from him. She told police she thought the man wanted to have an affair with her.
Her case set off a succession of women who came forward and reported similar acts of wrongdoing.
Moore could face a prolonged prison sentence if convicted of the multiple felony and misdemeanors in the case. He is next due in a Larimer County courtroom Monday and Weld County courtroom April 29. The Nebraska cases are ongoing.
Moore is being held at the Weld County jail on $100,000 bond.
Anyone with additional information or who believes they might be a victim is asked to contact Fort Collins Police Detective Dan Calahan at 970-416-2051 or dcalahan@fcgov.com. Residents can also contact Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at 970-221-6868 where they will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Crime Stoppers can also be reached online at www.stopcriminals.org.
Reporter Jason Pohl covers public safety for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.