MIAMI, FL— October 26, 2011 – Following the Oct. 12 arrest of a Kissimmee nurse accused of sexually assaulting two patients at Osceola Regional Medical Center this year, local authorities announced that they have not yet ruled out the potential for additional victims in cities where the male nurse (and former Air Force Nurse Corps captain) worked in the past, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Shean Michael Galvin, the accused male nurse, received national recognition in 2003 when he directed the medical evacuation of a recovered U.S. prisoner of war. Upon being rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel, Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was reportedly medevac’d from Iraq—where she was injured and subsequently held captive by Iraqi forces—to a German hospital for treatment.
Galvin was arrested on two counts of sexual battery in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two patients at Kissimmee-based Osceola Regional Medical Center this year. Furthermore, police reports suggested rape allegations brought by a patient at Clermont-based South Lake Hospital prompted an inquiry by the Florida Board of Nursing in Oct. 2007.
Employed by South Lake Hospital between 2005 and 2007, Galvin apparently told that particular patient he could administer the injections she normally received for migraine headaches at her home, as opposed to in the ER. A nursing inquiry revealed that on Oct. 3, 2007, Galvin signed out three vials of the drug Dilaudid. That was the same day the woman claimed Galvin came to her home under the premise that “he would give her the shots of medicines” in exchange for “sexual favors.”
The woman in that case told police that not only did she take a bath and wash the majority of her clothes following the alleged assault; humiliation deterred her from reporting the incident until 12 days later. Given that there had been “destruction of possible evidence by the victim” and Galvin maintained he only went to the woman’s house to show her how to properly administer her own injections, he was not arraigned in that case.
He did however have his nursing license suspended due to the fact that he had no authorization to sign out the said vials of Dilaudid. He was also placed on probation for that offence.
In the 2011 cases, one Osceola Regional patient claimed she was forced to perform an explicit sexual act on Galvin during her stay at the hospital. Another victim claimed the male nurse administered her injections and then went on to inappropriately touch her.
According to Capt. Warren Shepard of the Kissimmee Police Department, “We are working on a timeline and plan to release it as soon as possible. We’re hoping to alert these communities there was a predator in their area who may have harmed people in his care… People are most vulnerable when they go to an emergency room and trust the people who are there are looking out for their best interests. This person obviously wasn’t.”
Although Galvin posted bond and has since been released from jail, he was also suspended from Osceola Regional Medical Center, which is expected to conduct its own investigation into the sexual assault allegations. The Florida Department of Health will also be investigating the sexual battery case.
Reports noted that while Galvin was serving overseas as an Air Force Reserves captain in 2003, he was a nurse under the employment of Reno-based Washoe Medical Center. In the past, Galvin was employed as a nurse in Nevada as well.
About the Miami Sexual Assault Lawyers and Personal Injury Attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
Working closely with advocacy groups such as the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), the Miami sexual assault attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz are dedicated to protecting and enforcing the rights of rape and sexual assault victims. With more than 30 years of experiencing litigating a variety of complex injury and assault claims, the South Florida injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. will fight to help victims of sexual assault and rape obtain the justice a compensation they deserve.