A lady recounted experiencing “horror” after being sexually attacked by a healthcare professional at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, according to trial testimony. Non-english speaking Jobin Jose, 41, of Marconi Plaza, refutes a solitary charge of sexual assault by penetration about an occurrence at the Essex hospital in 2022.
On Tuesday, October 8, Jobin Jose, attired in a pink shirt and cream trousers, sat calmly observing the hearing from behind the glass of the safe dock at Chelmsford Crown Court. The victim, a hospital patient post-operation, was reportedly assaulted by Jobin Jose.
The jury was informed that the woman had requested a bedpan, a device designed to assist individuals with toileting following surgery, due to her inability to visit the lavatory independently. In a video interview with law enforcement, the survivor articulated a sense of “total vulnerability” following the purported sexual assault.
Jobin Jose, after the woman had used the equipment, allegedly ‘wiped’ the woman’s genitals with a tissue without her permission. He is accused of then sexually assaulting her.
In court, she said: “He [Jobin Jose] did not ask me if I wanted to wipe myself or if it was okay for him to wipe me. He zoomed in and it was not just a wipe but rubbing round my genitals. I remember it feeling like I had wet the bed.
“The next thing I knew I felt his fingers inside me and I said ‘no, stop’. He stopped and then almost immediately he put them back in again. I said ‘no’ and flailed [my arms] and that was enough to make him leave.”
They added: “My immediate thought was horror. I have never had anybody other than someone I have been in a relationship with or a doctor do anything like that [to me].
“I could see his arm and you could tell the feeling, having been sexually active. You know what it feels like. I felt sick. It was like all I could feel was the feeling of something having been inside me.”
“I felt completely vulnerable,” they continued. “I just did not know what more I could do as I just wanted him to go.”
‘Hospital understaffing meant no-one able to help patient’
The court heard Jobin Jose ordinarily worked in a different unit at Broomfield Hospital but had been moved into the ward the patient was in on the day of the alleged assault in 2022. Prosecutor Ravi Dogra told the jury it “might not surprise” them that the NHS hospital was “short staffed” and so he was moved to help staff in a different ward.
He added: “There was no-one present, again due to under-staffing, either to do the procedure or to act as a chaperone.”
The incident was reported to staff at the hospital – which is managed by the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust – and the woman reported it to Essex Police. Jobin Jose was arrested by officers at the hospital and taken into custody where he answered no comment to questions but relied on a prepared written statement, the court heard.
Jobin Jose, who had an interpreter sit next to him in the dock, was described by the victim as having a “not very good” understanding of English. Mr Dogra, prosecuting, said the defendant’s use of the English language “may become relevant” to the jury in their consideration of the evidence.
Gwen Williamson, defence counsel for Jobin Jose, challenged the survivor on her allegations saying anything in an attempt to disgrace the victim. She described the alleged incident as a “tale” and proposed the woman had “made this entire account up”, adding: “He was not your type: you could not understand what he was saying. You found him difficult to communicate with.
“You did not like him and you made your mind up about that very quickly from the first visit to the room.”
The woman responded by saying she “did not like a lot of the staff in the hospital”. She continued: “I would not make anything like this up. I would not go through all this for a fairy-tale.”
UPDATE 16.10.24
A care worker at a Chelmsford hospital who has faced for more than two years allegations of sexual assaulting a patient has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Jobin Jose, 41, was on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court accused of assault by penetration following an allegation by a patient who had been visiting for an operation in 2022.
Mr Jose, who had worked at the hospital for a year prior to the allegation, had moved to England from India where he had previously worked as a nurse. He denied the offence after being accused of assaulting the woman and a jury took just over an hour to acquit him of the charge.
The healthcare assistant, who had never been arrested before, repeatedly told jurors that he had not penetrated the woman’s genitals with any part of his body and that there had been no sexual touching. Defence barrister Gwen Williamson said Jose had been “utterly devoted” to his job.
They added: “Staff make a hospital run. They do so in a professional manner and a courteous manner. Why do I say that well [the woman] told other members of staff that Mr Jose had been discourteous during early observations and that he raised his voice at her. But we know that wasn’t right as there was another nurse there who was there and witnessed what took place during those observations.
“It’s not him, but her. She was sharp with him. If he had an issue with her he would somehow respond to it. But given the professional that he was, he put it down to coming out of the operation and whatever drugs were administered to her.”
The trial had previously heard that Mr Jose, who ordinarily works on the burns unit, had moved wards due to staffing issues at Broomfield Hospital. Prosecutor Ravi Dogra told the jury it “might not surprise” them that the NHS hospital was “short staffed” and so he was moved to help staff in a different ward.
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