OXNARD : Nurse Pleads Guilty to Sexual Molestation
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A former nurse at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard pleaded guilty Friday to sexually molesting two male patients in the hospital’s emergency room.
Acting Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Clark promised to place Gordon Butikofer, 37, on probation in exchange for his guilty plea to two counts of felony sexual battery on an institutionalized person. Butikofer had faced a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison.
Three men, all using a Spanish interpreter, testified at a preliminary hearing last month that they were fondled at the hospital. Two of the witnesses identified Butikofer as the man who molested them, but the third said he was unable to open his eyes because of blood flowing from a head wound.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Calvert would not comment on the plea agreement, saying only that if any prior felony convictions are discovered between now and Butikofer’s sentencing, the promise of probation is voided.
Butikofer worked as a registered nurse at St. John’s from January, 1993, to May of this year. Now a Utah resident, he is free on $10,000 bail.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13.
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