EVANSTON — A former certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the Wyoming State Hospital has been charged with three counts of second degree sexual assault of a patient. Following a preliminary hearing on Friday, May 26, Christopher S. King’s case has been bound over to district court.

In this case, second degree sexual assault is charged primarily because King, 44, was an employee of the state hospital at the time and is accused of taking advantage of a hospital resident. (King is no longer an employee of the state hospital, according to Wyoming Department of Health spokesperson Kim Deti.) The alleged victim is an adult female in her 30s, according to Evanston Police Lt. Ken Pearson. 

Evanston Police Department detective Scott Faddis, who testified at the preliminary hearing, said the case was reported to the police department on Nov. 11, 2016, and was initially assigned to Officer Paul Robbins. When Robbins interviewed the alleged victim, she told him King had been having various types of sex with her since July of 2016.

Faddis said the alleged victim is involuntarily hospitalized under Title 25 and has several mental illnesses. Because she is classified as a serious self-harmer (she is also suicidal and at serious risk for depression), the patient is under constant one-to-one observation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Faddis said staff must keep a constant line of sight with her, although it is a silent observation (so no conversation is permitted except for therapeutic conversation), and the observation includes when she is asleep, awake, in the bathroom or shower or doing any sort of activity. 

Faddis said there is an observation log that includes which staff member was assigned to her at any given time, as well as the patient’s emotional state at the time. He added that the observer is usually switched out hourly. 

In an interview with the alleged victim, police heard that the victim and King had sex more than 20 times between July and November. The encounters took place in her room, in bathrooms, in an administrative room (Room 441), including when he would observe her while she showered. She allegedly told police that King was always the one to observe her while she was showering. 

After defense attorney Jack Freeland asked about the Wyoming State Hospital’s policies about CNAs observing patients of the opposite sex in the shower, Faddis said the Wyoming State Hospital provides an option for employees to switch out if they feel uncomfortable with shower duty, and King allegedly refused to switch out with female CNAs. 

“At the state hospital every effort is made to have observers of private activities be of the same sex as the patient,” Deti told the Herald. “Patients can request an observer of the same sex for private activities; it is not just an employee decision. While it can be challenging due to staff availability, same sex observation is usually accommodated by staff action such as trades or requests for help.” 

The incident that sparked the investigation allegedly occurred on Nov. 11, when King took the patient to Room 441 (an administrative conference room with no cameras). Audiovisual surveillance acquired for the investigation included a conversation in which King exchanged some personal comments with the patient as they went to the room. 

A fellow employee, while trying to perform a 15-minute check, looked for King and the patient that day and found them in the area; she reported the incident to the police, who arrived that afternoon. 

After the hearing, the judge said there is probable cause that King performed offenses on all three counts and bound King over to district court for arraignment.