Bristol Woman Was Sexually Assaulted In Hospital: Lawsuit

BRISTOL, PA — A Bucks County woman claims in a lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted twice while she was recovering from surgery at a Philadelphia hospital.

Rose Tummarello, 28, of Bristol, was a patient at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the time of the attacks in January, according to the lawsuit.

She says she had undergone a 9-hour surgery on Jan. 29 and her parents were outside her room when a hospital employee tasked with taking her from surgery to her recovery room assaulted her.

She claims he shut the curtains in the surgery room, took a sheet off of her, then began groping and kissing her. He then took her to her recovery room, where she says the man began groping and kissing her again.

Tummarello told 6abc Action News that she felt sedated from drugs, but thinks it was only a couple of minutes before she yelled for her parents to come into the room.

"As they were like coming in, he was whispering in my ear, 'Just wait until they leave and we can have more fun,' " she told the station.

Tummarello also has pressed sexual assault charges against Rafael Alicea, a Jefferson University Hospital employee.

A lawyer for Alicea told Patch that he maintains his innocence.

"Mr. Alicea is devastated at being accused of a crime and misconduct regarding a patient," attorney David Mischak said in an email. "He fervently asserts his innocence and looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name in a court of law. My client enjoys an outstanding character reputation and has never been accused of any level of misconduct in all his years of employment."

In a statement to the station, Jefferson Hospital called the safety, health and well-being of its patients, employees and students its top priority.

"When we receive any reports of sexual misconduct, we investigate and take action as quickly as possible," the statement said.

It encourages anyone who needs to report an incident of sexual violence to contact campus security at 215-955-8888 or 215-955-5678.

A trial in the case has been set for Sept. 26 at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia.