Kansas revokes license of nurse accused of sexually assaulting patients at a KCK hospital

Kansas officials on Friday revoked the license of a registered nurse charged with sexually assaulting three patients this year at a Kansas City, Kan., hospital.

The action against Dennis Clark by the Kansas State Board of Nursing was taken as law enforcement officials in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they are investigating allegations involving the possibility of more victims.

Clark, 47, a resident of Johnson County, is charged in Wyandotte County District Court with three felony counts of aggravated sexual battery. He is free on bond pending a Dec. 30 preliminary hearing.

Late Friday afternoon, Wyandotte County prosecutors said they had filed additional charges in connection with a fourth victim. Details of those charges were not available.

The alleged assaults in the earlier charges occurred at Providence Medical Center, where Clark was a staff nurse in the hospital’s post-anesthesia care unit, according to prosecutors. Hospital officials said he is no longer employed there.

Court documents allege that Clark touched the victims sexually when they were “incapable of giving consent” because of the “effect of any drug or other substance.” The incidents allegedly occurred on March 8, May 13 and May 19, according to the documents.

One alleged victim was a psychiatric patient who reported that she was in a bathroom when Clark rubbed against her in a sexual way, according to the license revocation order.

A second alleged victim reported that Clark penetrated her vagina with his fingers and “did not have a medical reason to do so,” according to the order.

The third patient reported that she was in a recovery area when Clark, who was not assigned to her care, ran his fingers over her pubic area.

In its revocation order, the nursing board revealed Friday that two similar complaints had been made while Clark previously worked at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park.

Overland Park police confirmed that they had investigated cases in 2010 and 2011 when Clark worked at Menorah, but no charges were filed.

According to the nursing board, a Menorah patient reported that a man fitting Clark’s description made inappropriate comments to her while she was in the intensive care unit and inserted his fingers in her vagina. The man’s identity could not be confirmed, according to the revocation order.

A second patient made similar claims about a man matching Clark’s description, but the allegation was not substantiated.

Overland Park police said Friday that based on the new information, detectives are taking a new look at those cases.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said Friday that his office is working with police. He said he couldn’t comment further because it is an ongoing investigation.

Police in Kansas City, Kan., said they also are investigating if there are other possible victims. They ask anyone with information to call detectives at 913-573-6020.

An attorney for Clark did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Kansas revokes license of nurse accused of sexually assaulting patients at a KCK hospital."