Jeffrey McAllister worked as a nurse in Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s emergency room. He pleaded guilty to 10 separate sex crimes in Multnomah County Circuit Court, including sexually assaulting seven women between October 2009, and February 2013. McAllister targeted women who had prior drug, alcohol or emotional problems, especially if they were poor or homeless. He gave them powerful narcotics under the guise of providing treatment, then molested them when they were too helpless to resist.

An important question in Kafoury & McDougal’s civil litigation against Legacy was how McAllister was able to prey on helpless women for years without being detected. His employment file at Emanuel showed that an accusation of sexual abuse was first made against him in 2006. We found out that other patients accused McAllister of abuse in September 2012, October 2012, January 2013, and February 2013. But somehow McAllister stayed on the job, where he had access to narcotics and vulnerable women until April 2013.

This is yet another instance of a lack of institutional control and blatant disregard for patient safety. Hospital administrators should take all accusations of sexual assault seriously, but again and again, we see complaints inadequately investigated, or not investigated at all, allowing this sexual predator to continue to prey on innocent victims.