Nigerian man jailed for kissing Patients forcefully in UK hospital

A Nigerian healthcare worker, Adewale Kudabo, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a UK court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female patient at York Hospital.

The 47-year-old, who was employed as a healthcare assistant, committed the offence while assigned to bathe the patient, who was in considerable pain at the time.

According to reports from YorkPress, Prosecutor Henry Fernnandez told the court that after bathing the patient, Kudabo leaned down and kissed her on the lips without consent. The victim, despite her condition, tried to resist but was unable to avoid the unwanted kiss, leaving her confused and deeply uncomfortable.

The court further heard that just days later, Kudabo again offered to bathe the patient and attempted to kiss her a second time, which she unsuccessfully tried to avoid. The victim has since suffered from anxiety and recurring flashbacks from the assaults, eventually reporting the incidents to the police.

Kudabo, of Count De Burgh Terrace, South Bank, York, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on the opening day of his trial in April. In his sentencing on Tuesday, June 10, Judge Alex Menary condemned Kudabo for betraying the patient’s trust. “You abused that trust,” the judge said, ordering him to serve half of his one-year sentence before being eligible for release.

Defence counsel Jerry Sodipe told the court that Kudabo, who had no prior convictions, showed genuine remorse and admitted his actions, claiming he was moved by the patient’s suffering and wrongly believed a kiss might offer comfort.

Following the sentencing, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued a statement expressing deep regret over the incident. “Patients should always feel safe and respected while in our care, and we deeply regret that this was not the case. We acted swiftly and decisively, and the individual involved left our employment soon afterwards,” the statement read.