The prosecution has launched an investigation following a report that a nurse at the State Psychiatric Hospital in Sevlievo sexually abused a patient, with the incident allegedly being covered up by the hospital director, Dr. Syuzan Sadakova. “For the Truth” learned this from its sources within the healthcare facility, and the prosecution confirmed that a pre-trial proceeding has been initiated.
A week ago, a video recording was received in the editorial office, in which a patient around 50 years old, visibly distressed by the incident, recounts how he was lured by the nurse in the hospital bathroom, where the sexual acts took place. Despite being notified of the incident, the director of the state healthcare facility, Dr. Syuzan Sadakova, did not file a report with either the local police or the prosecutor’s office. The nurse, alleged to have committed the misconduct, was promptly sent on leave, while Sadakova went on vacation abroad shortly thereafter.
The case is scandalous not only due to the
potential assault against a person with a mental illness
by a staff member of the hospital. According to healthcare workers at the facility, the nurse had previously assaulted patients, which was a public secret within the hospital. Information about the most recent case of sexual assault against a mentally ill individual in the State Psychiatric Hospital in Sevlievo did eventually reach the prosecutor’s office after a former employee of the healthcare facility filed a report, which included the video that “For the Truth” is in possession of.
The Ministry of Health, which oversees the psychiatric hospital in Sevlievo, was not informed of the incident, despite the fact that its officials had conducted an inspection there just days after the alleged misconduct occurred.
The inspection was carried out following a report of violations by the hospital director, Dr. Syuzan Sadakova – authoritarian management and psychological harassment of staff. This was the second inspection within just one year. However, no one reported the patient’s complaint to the inspectors, as many staff members noted that “fear reigns in this hospital.”
Regarding exactly what happened on the night of April 2 to 3 of this year, no doctors or members of the medical staff at the Sevlievo psychiatric hospital were willing to speak to “For the Truth.” The only one who agreed to talk was the nurse against whom the allegations of sexual misconduct have been made.
During the night shift
According to the statement of the mentally ill man, which was attached to the report to the prosecutor’s office, the nurse asked him to give him a “massage.” He later clarified that this was to be a massage of the intimate parts, which was to be done in the bathroom. What exactly happened there is recounted by the individual reporting sexual assault in the full version of the video, part of which is published at the beginning of this text. According to him, for the “massage,” the nurse gave him two cigarettes. What transpired in the bathroom of the hospital led other patients and some of the medical staff to begin speculating after they noticed a sudden change in the behavior of the patient making the complaint.
“The this is that I indeed gave him two cigarettes,” the nurse told “For the Truth,” whose name, along with that of the patient, we keep confidential for ethical reasons. “These people cannot do without cigarettes. Everything else is absolute lies, and this can be proven by the cameras that are in every ward. From them, you can see if I take the patient out and where we go. I don’t know why no one wants to see the video recordings from these cameras. Probably because they will prove that after I give the patient cigarettes, he returns to his room,” the nurse further explained.
After that night, the man, who was the subject of the alleged sexual misconduct and who had seemed intelligent and humble, was no longer the same, hospital staff say. He became withdrawn, silent, avoided other patients, hid his face, and lay curled up in a ball…
According to the few members of the hospital staff who dared to speak, he felt intense shame about what he claims happened. Likely for this reason, it took him some time to muster the courage to share it with another patient he communicated with.
It is likely that this patient assessed that the case was too shocking and should not remain a secret. Thus, he informed the head of the department and the senior nurse, who then reported it to the hospital director, who was already abroad at the time. According to staff members who managed to speak with “For the Truth,” when they relayed what had happened to her, Sadakova said:
“I do not believe in mentally ill people.”
The nurse shares her views as well.
” How can you believe a mentally ill person?” he asked in the conversation with “For the Truth.” “I am dedicated to my work; anyone can confirm this. Ask at the Municipal Hospital, where I also work as a nurse. I’ve been at the psychiatric hospital for five years, and there has never been a complaint about my work. I don’t know why they are doing this now,” he says, convinced that there is a “targeted attack” against him, but he cannot explain the reasons behind it.
The case is completely denied by the hospital director, Dr. Sadakova. Reached by phone by “For the Truth,” she stated: “No sexual misconduct! I was on leave.” She then declared that she did not wish to be contacted by phone any further. The only thing that suggests something did happen at the hospital under her management is what she added before ending the call: “There are the appropriate authorities,” clearly referring to the prosecutor’s office.
“I do not speak with journalists.”
“Za istinata” (“For the Truth”) also attempted to learn details from the team in the department where the victim is located. Its head, Dr. Martinova, categorically refused to answer any questions. When she realized the reason for the call, she quickly ended the conversation, stating: “I do not speak with journalists.”
However Martinova overlooks the fact that she is a doctor in a state hospital, whose operations should be public. Furthermore, potential sexual misconduct would constitute a crime, and if it is proven to have actually occurred, covering it up makes her an accomplice.
According to information obtained by “For the Truth,” after learning about the incident, Dr. Martinova informed the hospital director and prohibited her department team from commenting on the situation for any reason. It can only be speculated whether her statement of “not engaging with journalists” implies that she is hiding something. Otherwise, there should be no obstacles to dispelling any doubts about the occurrence of sexual violence in a state hospital that treats individuals with mental illnesses.
The nurse of the department, Radostina Stefanova, also refused to comment on the case. “I have nothing to say; don’t involve me in this,” she stated. When we attempted to explain that the information was needed to clarify the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, she simply replied, “We’re done. Goodbye,” and ended the conversation.
If this indeed concerns a potential criminal act, it is of utmost importance to establish whether it was committed under conditions of recurrence. It remains unclear whom the doctors and medical staff of the hospital are actually protecting with their silence, but it appears that it is not the allegedly injured patient.
It is possible that the staff is adhering to some strange internal regulations within the hospital. This is hinted at by the nurse himself when we ask why, despite denying any wrongdoing towards the patient, none of the staff spoke a word in his defense. “We are not allowed to disclose information about what happens in the hospital. We’ve signed an order,” he says. This is a normal practice, similar to what existed in the other hospital where I work (the municipal one).
The author of the video also declined to speak with “For the Truth,” but with the caveat that he would postpone the conversation for a later stage.
Is this a singular case or a recurrence?
It also unclear whether the nurse has taken advantage of other patients in the Sevlievo psychiatric hospital. Information reaching “For the Truth” suggests that there is reason to believe that the current case is not an isolated incident. Therefore, an investigation into the matter is necessary; if these claims prove true, what is alleged to have occurred on the night of April 2-3 may fall under the provisions of the Penal Code concerning “dangerous recidivism” in the section on “debauchery” dealing with sexual misconduct.
According to scant and unofficial information from the healthcare facility, a year ago, a boy, also a patient in one of its departments, was granted leave but had nowhere to live. He claims that the nurse housed him in his villa but later told a staff member at the hospital that he escaped because the nurse “wanted sex” from him.
Regarding all this, the nurse insists that he is innocent and even requested “For the Truth” to help “clear his name.”
Investigation Upon Signal
Another important detail in this story is that shortly after the beginning of April this year, an investigation was launched by the Ministry of Health at the healthcare facility. This was based on a complaint regarding “irregularities, authoritarian management, and psychological harassment of staff” by director Dr. Syuzan Sadakova. The complaint was submitted by the facility’s psychologist, Miroslava Kasamakova. This is the second inspection within a year, while the first was conducted through documentation, whereas this time the Ministry of Health sent a team on-site.
Officials from the ministry arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident involving the complaint of sexual assault, documented in the full version of the video. However, according to “For the Truth” sources, this incident was not the subject of the inspection, as “no one dared to tell them” about it.
According to the currently applicable legislation, sexual misconduct is a crime punishable by imprisonment for two to eight years when it involves violence against a person in a helpless state. In cases where the individual subjected to such conduct does not understand the nature and significance of the act, the punishment can go up to fifteen years in prison.
A pre-trial investigation has been initiated in the case at the Sevlievo prosecutor’s office. An investigation is underway, interrogations are being conducted, and expert evaluations are being appointed, said Lyudmila Racheva, spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Gabrovo, to “For the Truth.” As of now, no charges have been filed. The deadline for concluding the work on the pre-trial proceeding expires at the beginning of June, but it may be extended if the supervising prosecutor finds grounds for doing so, Racheva further clarified.
In specific case, however, the prosecutor’s office will need to investigate whether another, equally serious crime has been committed. The alleged sexual misconduct involving a patient suffering from severe mental illness has been hushed up by nearly all who learned of it. It would be even more shameful and condemnable if their behavior relies on everything being swept under the rug because “what is said by people with mental issues cannot be trusted.”
