A man has alleged a nurse at a Geelong private hospital raped him during a bed bath when he was recovering from surgery to his deviated septum.
“He felt frightened and helpless at lying in a hospital bed with a drip in his arm and in pain from his surgery,” prosecutor Richard Pirrie told a jury trial at the County Court in Geelong on Tuesday.
But Peng Yang, who is charged with rape and three counts of sexual assault, denies any sexual contact with the patient and claims he was giving the man a wash as he was performing his normal duties as a nurse.
A jury of 12 will decide the 38-year-old’s fate.
The patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, underwent two procedures in September 2019 at St John of God Hospital in Geelong and was recovering with his wife beside him, Mr Pirrie told the jury.
Yang, who had been a registered nurse since 2017 and was studying to become a doctor, was working the afternoon shift and walked into the hospital room to offer the man an icy pole and sandwiches.
The man’s wife asked if she could stay the night in hospital with her husband, but Yang told her that was only possible if the patient was a minor.
After she left, around 10pm, Yang walked into the patient’s room with a basin, water and a towel.
He told the man he was going to give him a bath in his hospital bed, closed the curtain and removed the patient’s gown.
Mr Pirrie claimed Yang said to the patient “you’re feeling horny, do you have sex with your wife?” before he is accused of sexually assaulting and raping the man as he lay in bed.
The man was in a “state of shock” that evening and did not immediately report the alleged assault, the prosecutor said.
He was discharged the next day and confided in a friend later that evening, who encouraged the man to call police.
Yang told police the allegations were “ridiculous” and said he asked for consent before giving the man a bath.
His lawyer, top criminal barrister Dermot Dann, labelled the man’s claims as “extreme”.
He questioned the man’s credibility, reliability and the consistency and accuracy of his account.
“Mr Yang has done nothing wrong whatsoever, not only is he presumed to be innocent, he is innocent,” Mr Dann told the jury.
“The only contact he made … was lawful contact that came about as this man was performing his duties as a nurse.”
The trial before Judge Greg Lyon continues.
