EASTON — The former Easton hospital employee accused of raping an unconscious patient and videoing the act in December 2019 will stand trial by judge in July.
The trial date was set during a pretrial conference on Friday morning after Andrew Cochran, an attorney for Travis Brooks, said plea negotiations with the prosecution have “not been fruitful.†Brooks’ trial is set for 9 a.m. on July 14.
Cochran said half of a day likely would be needed for Brooks’ trial and indicated that video of the incident would be shown in court. The trial, he said, would consist of “really just watching a video.â€
Brooks, 36, faces charges of second-degree rape, third- and fourth-degree sex offense, vulnerable adult abuse and second-degree assault stemming from allegations that he recorded himself digitally penetrating a female patient while she was unconscious for a procedure at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton.
The video, reportedly captured on a cellphone, is about two minutes long and according to investigators was taken inside an employee elevator in the Easton hospital by a Black male wearing blue scrubs.
Police found the video unintentionally during an investigation into Brooks connected to allegations that he had stolen credit card details and money from several patients at the hospital. Investigators had been searching Brooks’ phone media for photos of patients’ credit cards and other evidence related to the theft accusations when they found a video of Brooks allegedly raping a patient.
Police identified the patient in the video, which police found in August 2020 but was recorded in December 2019, and confirmed that Brooks had access to the patient on the day of the incident, police said.
Brooks was arrested on Aug. 11, 2020, following investigators’ discovery of the video. His employment with the hospital had already been terminated in April 2020 after police found probable cause to charge him in connection with his alleged theft of patients’ money.
Shore Regional Health CEO Ken Kozel said in a statement to Â鶹´«Ã½ in August that the hospital system was “absolutely appalled†and “deeply disturbed by the allegations†against Brooks.
“The pain of this situation is not something any patient or their family should ever bear, nor should any community have cause to question how an incident like this could happen. For that, I am truly sorry,†Kozel said in the statement.
Brooks was charged in the theft case with two counts of theft under $100 and five counts of stealing another’s credit card, according to court documents.
A pretrial conference in that case, as well as in a controlled dangerous substance possession case against Brooks, is set for July 16, as Cochran requested in court Friday that proceedings in those cases not be scheduled before Brooks’ rape trial.
(2) comments
... and throw away the key ....
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What is happening to my hometown? This type of crime was unthinkable when I came of age, I hate to say in the 1980's. You could safely walk almost the whole town at any hour , now we are no even safe in the hospital I am glad I am in my later years hate to see things in another 40 years
[sad][sad]
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