INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A Jackson County judge found a man guilty of raping a patient while he was working at a St. Louis-area hospital.
Chukwuemeka U. Emmanuel, 37, was convicted of first-degree rape on Dec. 1 following a bench trial, reports Fox 4. Court documents show the victim had been admitted to Centerpoint Hospital in June 2019 for complications from a prior surgery. The patient asked Emmanuel, who was a float nurse hired from an outside agency, to help clean herself up because her catheter was leaking.
The victim, who had received morphine and other narcotics for pain management, said Emmanuel put rubber gloves on and began performing sexual acts, raping her and touching her. Security camera footage shows Emmanuel entering the patient’s room and leaving 20 minutes later.
The following day, another nurse conducted a rape kit on the victim. During the exam, the patient told the nurse that she asked Emmanuel to stop several times and that he was not wearing protection. He was fired after the accusations were made.
During the investigation, another Centerpoint nurse who was in a relationship with Emmanuel told police he called her two days after the reported assault saying he was going to Nigeria because he had been accused of rape but that it had been consensual sex.
The nurse told investigators Emmanuel claimed to already be in Nigeria but detectives tracked the number and determined he was calling from a landline in New York City, according to The Examiner.
Emmanuel is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2022.
