A former Detroit nurse will face trial in three separate sexual assault cases after a judge found sufficient evidence to send the case to circuit court.
47-year-old Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios is accused of sexually assaulting two patients at Sinai Grace Hospital and another woman in downtown Detroit.
The decision came after survivors provided emotional and disturbing testimony during Thursday’s (Oct. 23) preliminary hearing.
“You are there to seek medical attention, whether it’s mental or physical. She is there for medical attention. Not to be fondled,” the judge said during heated exchanges with the defense.
One survivor testified that Figueroa-Berrios touched her inappropriately and pressed his private parts against her during her hospital stay.
She reported attempting to alert hospital staff about the incident at the time.
“I wasn’t imagining that, but they basically brushed it off like it didn’t happen,” she said.
A second patient alleged the defendant forced her to perform oral sex multiple times.
“I feel shame. I feel dirty. I feel disgusted by myself,” she said.
The third survivor, a former colleague, accused Figueroa-Berrios of attempted rape in a downtown porta-potty last May.
She came forward after learning about the other cases, saying, “I knew that he was a predator, and I was one of his victims.”
The cases have sparked multiple civil lawsuits against Tenet Healthcare, VHS of Michigan, and VHS Sinai-Grace Hospital, with attorneys suggesting there could be hundreds of additional survivors.
The judge bound over all three criminal cases for trial.