“Lactation consultant” arrested in Toronto

A Toronto man was arrested in October after he slipped into a maternity ward, posed as a lactation consultant and assaulted 2 new mothers. The 25-year-old suspect was placed under house arrest after allegedly groping the 2 women at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was later charged with 4 additional counts of sexual assault linked to similar incidents at other area hospitals.

The women, who had given birth less than 24 hours earlier, were approached by a man wearing green scrubs who said he was a lactation consultant. “We're assuring everyone that this was an isolated incident,” said David Davenport, media relations manager at Mount Sinai. The man, who had also worked at nearby St. Michael's Hospital delivering supplies, had been banned from the maternity ward there. He also worked part time at the Toronto General Hospital, where he had acquired the scrubs used at Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai, which has 5000 full- and part-time staff, requires all staff members to wear photo identification, but many do not. The man who was arrested was not wearing any ID at the time of the assaults. “We're now enforcing zero tolerance [regarding missing identification],” said Davenport. “We've also reminded patients that if someone comes to them and is not wearing proper identification, then they should refuse their services.” — Brad Mackay, Toronto