Sacramento-area nurse sentenced for raping two incapacitated surgical patients

A Sacramento-area nurse was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison for raping two recovering surgical patients, officials said.

Gregory Harms was convicted on March 23 of sexually assaulting two female patients, one of whom he bound during the assault, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

According to previous Bee reporting, Harms was working at a Carmichael surgery center in April 2011 when he sexually assaulted a woman in his care who was incapacitated and recovering from her surgery.

In January 2019, Harms was a nurse at a Folsom hospital when he assaulted another female patient who was unable to move her arms and legs or speak. The district attorney’s office said her only form of communication was a thumbs up or down and she had limited writing capabilities.

Harms was the victim’s assigned nurse when he entered her hospital room, tied her only working hand to the hospital bed and sexually assaulted her, according to district attorney’s officials.

Both victims immediately reported the assault.

This story was originally published June 4, 2022 at 12:48 PM.