OAKLAND PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - A health center employee in Oakland Park has been arrested on multiple counts of sexual battery, and Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives fear there may be additional victims.
According to investigators, Jeff Doresca, a technician at the Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center, sexually assaulted a female patient in her room on Sunday.
“In the evening of February 16th. Jeff Doresca, who works as a tech at this facility, sexually battered her several times,” said BSO spokesperson Claudinne Caro.
The 37-year-old suspect appeared in court on Thursday.
“It would appear that Mr. Doresca was looking after some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and took advantage of that and violated the trust of one patient,” said a prosecutor during the hearing.
Authorities said the victim voluntarily admitted herself to the facility on Feb. 13 to seek treatment treatment for schizophrenia and depression.
The police report states part of Doresca’s duties was to check on patients throughout the night to make sure they were breathing. He was supposed to make his rounds every 15 minutes or so.
The police report further states the victim had been given medication that made her weak and drowsy, and she told detectives that Doresca came into her room several times during the night. The report reads in part:
“[The victim] advised she was not understanding what was happening because she was still drowsy from her medication. The male tech returned to her room five additional times … she was too drowsy and weak to resist.”
Doresca told detectives a different story, saying he did have sex with the patient, but she pressured him and threatened to have him lose his job.
Investigators said a roommate in the victim’s room witnessed the suspect’s actions at one point, and at the time, the roommate wasn’t sure what was going on.
Detectives said evidence confirmed the victim’s report.
“Detectives fear that he may have done this to other women or other people, so if anyone suspects or knows or thinks that perhaps they were a victim of this man, detectives ask that they come forward and speak with them,” said Caro.
Doresca was arrested Monday afternoon when he arrived for work. Detectives said he confessed.
Doresca faces six counts of sexual battery on a helpless victim and was booked into the Broward County Jail. He is being held without bond.
Authorities urge anyone who may have been victimized by Doresca to contact BSO’s Special Victims Unit at 954-321-4243 or submit an anonymous tip through Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
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