Scottsdale medical worker charged with sexually assaulting patient
Mar 20, 2019, 5:28 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
Xavier Uziel Perez (Scottsdale Police Department Photo)
(Scottsdale Police Department Photo)
PHOENIX — A medical worker at a Scottsdale pain treatment center was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexually assaulting a patient last year, authorities said.
Xavier Uziel Perez, 38, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while she was recovering from treatment to her back that required sedation, according to a Scottsdale Police Department email.
The alleged incident occurred at Integrated Pain Consultants near Shea Boulevard and 96th Street on June 25, 2018.
The 48-year-old victim reported the incident at the time, saying she believed that the man providing care in the recovery room committed the assault.
Investigators gathered evidence to confirm the woman’s account and arrested Perez without incident.
“So it’s been ongoing from the initial contact, that being interviews with parties involved … the suspect, many potential witness, but more importantly, there was forensic evidence that was gathered as part of the investigation, and that just takes time for those results to come back and (be) rechecked and followed up on,” Kevin Watts, Scottsdale Police public information officer, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.
“And so that kind of makes up for the time frame. It’s a lengthy process, but we were able to establish through that evidence the probable cause for the arrest of Mr. Perez.”
Scottsdale police said Perez admitted to the sexual assault during an interview before the arrest.
Perez has worked at all Integrated Pain Consultants branches throughout the Valley and was still employed at the time of his arrest, according to Watts. While he said there were no other similar incidents, detectives are investigating to see if there are other victims.
Anybody with information was asked to call the Scottsdale Police Department at 480-312-5000.
This arrest comes almost two months after licensed practical nurse Nathan Sutherland was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a severely disabled patient at Hacienda Healthcare.
An investigation was launched after the 29-year-old woman, who had lived at the facility since she was 3, unexpectedly gave birth in December.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup contributed to this report.
