A nurse obsessed with a patient in closed treatment gave her an “unnecessary” dose of sedative in order to “reduce” her resistance. He then sexually assaulted her. At trial, Amrane Kacher tried to portray the victim as a “temptress,” but the judge did not believe him and found him guilty of sexual assault on Wednesday.
The 42-year-old man was working as a nurse at Notre-Dame hospital in Montreal at the time of the facts, in the spring of 2021. He was quickly fired, but has not since been the subject of any disciplinary measures by his professional order. He simply did not re-register on the Roll of the Order of Nurses of Quebec in April 2022, the Order indicated to The Press.
The victim, a woman in her thirties, was admitted to Notre-Dame hospital in April 2021 to treat her alcoholism. She is under medical supervision as part of a closed treatment. She receives Valium intravenously, a sedative used to counteract withdrawal symptoms.
As soon as he was hospitalized, nurse Amrane Kacher seemed to pay him special attention. While she is on a stretcher, the nurse observes her private parts for several seconds, smirking. Another time, he tries to grab her breasts.
“Unusual” interest
Amrane Kacher takes an “unusual” interest in the patient, especially since she is not assigned to her. His attention is even “disproportionate”, according to the judge. For example, the nurse had escorted her outside so that she could smoke. “The accused had gone out of his way to get along with the complainant,” says Judge Salvatore Mascia.
That night, the patient must receive her dose of Valium at 1 a.m. However, Amrane Kacher decided on her own to give him one at 12:30 a.m. “Suspicious” behavior, according to the judge, since this dose was not medically necessary.
The nurse enters the room of the patient, weakened by the sedative, and begins to kiss her. Then, he inserts his fingers into her vagina and performs cunnilingus on her. He finally masturbates in front of the woman. Throughout the attack, the victim repeats the word “no”. She tries to defend herself, but her movements are slowed by the medication.
The victim initially hesitates to denounce her attacker, for fear of compromising her treatment at the hospital. She decides to do it anyway.
DNA found on chest
Amrane Kacher initially denied having any sexual relationship with the victim. For the accused, it was “after all his word against that of the complainant”, underlines the judge. He even thought he could return to his job. But when his DNA was found on the victim’s chest, the accused changed his version of the facts.
At trial, he said the victim suddenly kissed him. It depicts the woman as a sort of “temptress” dressed only in a bra and a thong. According to the accused, it was she who initiated the sexual acts. An “implausible” story, ruled Judge Mascia.
The defense insisted on the victim’s vagueness and contradictions on certain elements of her story. On this subject, Judge Mascia recalled that the witnesses were not “perfect”.
“We cannot expect them to recount events the way a sports presenter describes a hockey match,” the magistrate said.
Me Annabelle Sheppard represents the Crown, while Me Valérie Riendeau and Me Chloé Rainville defends the accused. Sentencing submissions will take place in the coming weeks.