Nurse accused of raping woman inside hospital appears in court

The case of an Eastern Cape nurse accused of raping a woman inside the Holy Cross Hospital’s consultation room in Flagstaff in March, has been postponed.

The woman was not a patient at the hospital, but was at the facility accompanying her child.

The child was due to be transferred to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital for specialist care when the nurse allegedly took the mother to a consulting room where the alleged offence occurred.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday that the case against the 31-year-old suspect had been postponed to 19 May for further investigation.

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The health worker made a brief appearance at the Flagstaff Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

He is currently out on R2 000 bail. He has been suspended by the Eastern Cape health department.

The suspension was announced by Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth.

Although Meth announced in a statement that the woman had screamed for help before she could be raped, the NPA and SAPS maintained that the charge was rape.

Meth had called on the police to prioritise the case and added that while the criminal investigation continued, the department had also instituted an internal probe.