Ex-Princeton Hospital Worker Sentenced In Sexual Assaults Of 2 Patients

PRINCETON, NJ — A former hospital worker from Princeton has been sentenced in connection with the sexual assault of two female patients who were incapacitated at the time of the assaults, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Richard Smith, 42, has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison after he admitted that he assaulted two women, including one while he worked as a patient care technician at the University Medical Center of Princeton in Plainsboro. The other occurred while he worked at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

He must serve 85 percent of his term before becoming eligible for parole, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey. Smith must also register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be placed on parole supervision for life upon his release.

He previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault. He had also been charged with six other counts that were dismissed as part of the plea deal. He was sentenced on Friday. In pleading guilty, Smith admitted that he digitally penetrated two victims while acting as their patient care technician, according to authorities.

Smith was arrested and charged in the Plainsboro Hospital incident on Nov. 18, 2015, following an investigation by Det. Deon McCall of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Det. Daniel Kanaley of the Plainsboro Police Department.

In that incident, a 25-year-old woman claimed he improperly touched her while she was under his care. During the course of the investigation, authorities learned of the second alleged sexual assault at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center that took place in 2013.

The assistant prosecutor in the case called Smith a “predator” and noted that one of the woman was under his care on suicide watch, according to the Princeton Packet. The judge in the case acknowledged that Smith has substance abuse problems and mental health issues.

Attached image of Richard Smith was previously provided by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office