Former MGH medical assistant convicted of sexually assaulting patients

A former medical assistant has been sentenced to nine to 12 years in state prison for sexual assaulting four male patients at a Care Hospital Center in Massachusetts, Sufolk District Office announced on Friday.

Damien Knighton, 41, from East Boston, was found guilty Earlier this month, on six charges of indecent attack and battery for a person over 14 years. Knighton was arrested in January 2023, after a patient reported that a medical assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital Back Bay Health Center on Commonwealth Avenue was sexually assaulted. Following this report, others presented similar statements that Knight had unauthorized genital and rectal exams after their doctors saw them.

Judge Debra Squeres-Lee said that four of the accusations are “with the most careless character”, because they involved the penetration of the victims.

“The defendant used his position and status to facilitate the crime. The use of his position of nurse to commit these crimes has led to the victims of additional emotional and mental pain. They trusted the defendant and the trust was abused, ”said Squeres-lee.

One of the victims read an impact declaration in court and two other impact statements were read by the assistant prosecutor of the district Rita Claire Muse.

“The last two years have had an effect on both my personal and professional,” said one of the victims in court. “The level of embarrassment, shame, anger and guilt I felt are at a level that I never thought I could feel. I am a very private person and the fact that I had to get up here and show my face and admit that this happened was the hardest thing I have ever had in my life. ”

After listening to the impact statements on the victim, Squeres-lee said: “I will tell you three things. You are brave, the shame is not yours. You were misled, you were lied, you didn’t deserve what happened to you. And thirdly, you will heal yourself with love and support. “

“The jury heard the voices and stories of these victims and returned the right verdict, and Judge Squeres-Lee sent a compassionate and compassionate message today as he pronounced an adequate sentence. I thank these victims for their courage to come up with what happened to them, “said Suffolk district lawyer, Kevin Hayden.

Knighton’s sentence will be followed by three years of evidence and lengthening in the medical field in Massachusetts, according to the DA Bureau. He must also be registered with the Council of Sexual Offenders in Massachusetts.