A Florida MRI technician has been arrested after police accused him of sexually assaulting a 64-year-old patient while she was drowsy from medication during a hospital scan.
Gabriel Cruz, 42, was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 16, and charged with sexual battery involving a victim who was physically helpless or incapacitated, according to the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
Police said the alleged assault happened Sept. 13 at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital in Port St. Lucie.
The woman had been given medication before undergoing an MRI and became drowsy, authorities said.
The following day, she reported to hospital staff that she had been sexually assaulted during the procedure.
Hospital officials then contacted police, triggering an investigation into what allegedly happened inside the MRI area.
Investigators said surveillance footage showed the woman entering and leaving the MRI room and also captured a man police identified as Cruz discarding materials as he left the area.
Detectives recovered those materials and tested them.
Several items produced presumptive positive results for the presence of male semen, according to police.
A presumptive test is an initial screening tool and is not the same as a final laboratory confirmation, which could become an important part of the ongoing investigation and any future prosecution.
Cruz was taken into custody two days later.
HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital said it contacted law enforcement after learning of the allegation and ended Cruz’s assignment.
“We do not tolerate behavior that jeopardizes the safety or security of our patients,” the hospital said in a statement reported by PEOPLE.
The hospital also said it has continued cooperating with investigators and is focused on supporting the patient.
HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital is a 229-bed acute-care facility in Port St. Lucie with an imaging department that provides diagnostic services including advanced scanning technology.
The specific charge against Cruz is significant under Florida law.
Florida defines a person as “physically helpless” when they are unconscious, asleep or otherwise physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. The state also defines “physically incapacitated” as being substantially limited in the ability to resist or flee.
Florida’s sexual battery statute also makes clear that consent must be knowing and voluntary and that a person’s failure to physically resist does not amount to consent.
Those definitions could become central to the case because police allege the patient had been medicated and was drowsy during the MRI.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed additional details about the alleged assault, the medication involved or whether further forensic testing has been completed.
The investigation remains active.
