Sask. nurse pleads guilty in sexual harassment disciplinary hearing
A registered nurse who admitted to sexually harassing a number of his former co-workers at a Balcarres, Sask., long-term care home will face a six-month suspension on top of the year he has already spent unemployed.
Marlon Gonzales entered a guilty plea at his disciplinary hearing for professional misconduct on Tuesday.
He had originally denied all of the allegations against him. He asked for the hearing to adjourn last fall in order to get a lawyer.
"I think with the passage of time he's had the opportunity to reflect on his behaviour and he's asked for a second chance," said Roger Lepage, lawyer for the investigation committee of the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses' Association.
"He's being given a second chance by his regulatory body and I can only hope that he takes that opportunity."
On Tuesday morning, before the hearing could resume, Gonzales and his lawyer, Anthony Po, said they had struck a plea agreement with Lepage.
The two lawyers made a joint submission to the SRNA's disciplinary committee on the facts, as well as the penalties Gonzales must face.
Allegations by co-workers
Gonzales was working at a long-term care home in Balcarres, where several of his co-workers claim he made suggestive remarks and at other times grabbed their hands, tried to kiss them or initiated other physical contact with them.
One former colleague, a licensed practical nurse who worked with Gonzales at the Balcarres Integrated Care Centre, said he asked her about her virginity and why she wouldn't date him, kissed her without permission, and pushed into her from behind.
Mango on windshield
On one occasion, after the nurse told Gonzales she had never eaten a mango, he placed one on her car with a note that had a heart and an arrow drawn on it, she said.
Others say Gonzales tried to kiss or touch them without permission, as well as talked about the size of a colleague's breasts and with another about parts of the vagina.
Gonzales is also alleged to have used the work phone list to obtain personal phone numbers to invite co-workers to his house or ask to be invited to theirs.
Terms and conditions
Gonzales was fired by the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region in December 2015.
Today, he was handed a number of further penalties including a six-month suspension, a requirement to work under direct and indirect supervision of another registered nurse for 2,000 working hours, and a requirement to pay $10,000 in costs to the SRNA over a number of years.
Prior to returning to work, Gonzales must complete a SRNA-approved course on respectful behaviour with colleagues, respect for professional boundaries and sexual harassment.
Gonzales will not be allowed to supervise other staff for two years, nor will he be allowed to participate in independent nursing, such as in a care home.
CBC reporter Stefani Langenegger will be reporting live from the hearing. You can follow her tweets below. On mobile? Click here.
