Former Peninsula Hospital Tech Pleads 'No Contest' to Groping Charges

REDWOOD CITY - A former anesthesia technician at Stanford Hospital accused of groping surgery patients pleaded no contest on Monday to two counts of sexual battery, prosecutors said.

Robert Lastinger, 56, of Fremont was fired from Stanford last year when several nurses reported he had touched the genitals of male patients post-surgery while they were still under anesthesia.

The patients were 16, 22, 25 and 52 years old.

Also on Patch: Stanford Hospital Ex-Worker Arrested, Accused Of Groping Patients Under Anesthesia

The hospital fired him on April 2, 2015, and notified Redwood City police. He had worked there since 2009.

Lastinger was charged with four counts of sexual battery but reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Monday to plead no contest to two counts in exchange for a sentence of no more than a year in jail, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

He is scheduled to return to court on June 29 for sentencing and remains free on $100,000 bail, prosecutors said.

-Bay City News, image via San Mateo County Sheriff's Office