Former UPMC-Mercy employee charged with inappropriately touching patients

A former UPMC employee was charged this week with inappropriately touching seven women patients while he worked at UPMC Mercy Hospital earlier this summer.

Pittsburgh police charged William Butler, 32, of West Mifflin with indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault. Mr. Butler referred questions to his attorney, Michael DeRiso, who said he had not yet been able to review the criminal complaint.

Mr. DeRiso said his client intended to turn himself in Friday, but court workers said as of about 5 p.m. that they had not yet seen him on an arraignment list.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that Mr. Butler inappropriately touched seven patients between June 28 and July 5, sometimes asking whether they had wet their beds and touching their genitals and sometimes saying he needed to adjust the leads on their heart monitors and touching their chests.

Officials said Mr. Butler worked as a patient sitter. Such workers monitor patients who are likely to have “impulsive or compromising behaviors,” such as those likely to harm themselves or to fall easily, according to UPMC spokeswoman Gloria Kreps.

Police wrote in the complaint that the patients in Mr. Butler’s case were “medically continent and required no assistance with cleaning themselves.” They wrote that one patient needed help

walking to the bathroom but did not need help using it.

Leslie Davis, senior vice president of UPMC, said in a statement that the hospital system began investigating after it learned of allegations involving Mr. Butler and that he was terminated “as a result of that investigation.” Ms. Davis said UPMC created a task force “to implement additional measures to further protect our patients at all UPMC locations.”

“The behavior reported in this case is abhorrent and violates both the mission of Mercy and the overall values of UPMC,” she said. “This is unacceptable in society let alone in any of our hospitals.”