MA: EX-NURSE ACCUSED OF TEEN SEX ASSAULTS
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A Hopedale, Massachusetts, man and former Boston Children’s Hospital nurse is set to be arraigned next week after prosecutors accused him of sexually assaulting two teenage boys in his care, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
John Tam, 33, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a patient by a healthcare provider.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday.
According to investigators, one alleged incident dates to Sept. 19, 2022, when a 15-year-old boy underwent chest surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave. Prosecutors say the teen had been given anesthesia and later awoke to find his nurse, identified as Tam, inappropriately touching his genitals.
A second alleged assault was reported on Jan. 2, 2025, when Boston police were called to the hospital after another teen said he had been sexually assaulted by Tam after surgery while recovering from anesthesia.
Investigators allege Tam told the victim’s mother to move her car to the entrance for discharge, then dressed the patient, took him to the first floor, and brought him into a single-stall bathroom even though the teen did not need to use the restroom. Prosecutors say Tam then sexually assaulted the victim for about eight minutes, including fondling his genitals and offering to pull up pornographic material on his phone.
Authorities said the victim’s mother alerted hospital staff immediately after realizing something was wrong. Investigators also said security footage allegedly shows Tam wheeling the patient into a bathroom and leaving about nine minutes later.
The indictment involves two teenage boys, but investigators say they are concerned the alleged assaults may not be isolated incidents.
“We are concerned that these may not be isolated incidents, and we want to assure parents that any information they provide will be thoroughly and sensitively investigated,” Hayden said.
Hayden urged parents whose children may have encountered Tam at Boston Children’s Hospital or at his prior workplaces, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, UMass Memorial Medical Center Worcester campus and UMass Memorial Medical Center Marlborough campus, to contact authorities if they have any suspicions that their children may have been assaulted.
“Because this matter is the subject of pending litigation, we cannot comment,” a UMass Memorial spokesperson said in a statement.
“At Boston Children’s Hospital, our patients’ and their families’ safety and well-being are our utmost priority and we continue to cooperate with the investigation and prosecution,” Boston Children’s Hospital said in a statement.
A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center spokesperson released the following statement:
“We do not comment on ongoing legal matters. This individual worked briefly for BIDMC several years ago, in 2019 and 2020. They do not presently work at BIDMC. BIDMC does not perform pediatric surgery and is not licensed for inpatient pediatric care.”
In Suffolk County, people can contact the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County at 617-779-2146. Survivors may also contact the Child Protection Unit at the Suffolk County district attorney’s office at 617-619-4300. Anyone who believes that a child in Massachusetts may be the victim of abuse should call the DCF Child at Risk Hotline at 1-800-792-5200.
Kathryn Robb, an advocate for children with the nonprofit Enough Abuse, emphasized the prevalence of child sexual abuse in the United States.
“We have an epidemic of child sex abuse in this country where about 1 in 5 children will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday,” Robb said.
Robb is advocating for stronger laws to protect children, including mandatory education and training programs at institutions that serve minors.
“Creating education programs, training programs, mandated by law at these institutions that serve children,” she said.
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