Nurse care tech who sexually assaulted patients at Ben Taub, Kingwood Medical Center sentenced

HOUSTON – A former nurse care technician who was found guilty of sexually assaulting patients at Ben Taub Hospital and Kingwood Medical Center was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kin Ogg confirmed. 

A jury found 53-year-old Ernesto Pedraza guilty on one felony charge of sexual assault. 

Pedraza worked as a nurse care tech from 2015 to 2016 at the hospitals to sexually assault male patients, Ogg said. Patients reported that Pedraza performed sex acts on them without their consent as they drifted in and out of consciousness, Ogg said. 

“We trust hospital staff to treat us in emergencies, not take advantage of our vulnerability,” said Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin Kaufmann. “Pedraza broke that trust over and over, and a jury of his peers decided he was guilty.”  

Both hospitals investigated the incidents and terminated Pedraza. The Houston Police Department also investigated..