Lovelace Westside Hospital security detain rape suspect
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Jan 25 2019 — Albuquerque police arrested a man who they say raped a fellow patient at Lovelace Westside Hospital while the woman slept Monday evening.
Anthony Casiquito, 22, was arrested Tuesday. He is charged with criminal sexual penetration, tampering with evidence and false imprisonment.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, police were called to the hospital on Golf Course NW near McMahon on Monday evening for a sexual assault.
When they arrived, they talked with security guards who told them they had Casiquito detained in an exam room.
The woman told police she had gone to the hospital for a medical complaint around noon. She said she was given anxiety medication, started to relax and then fell asleep.
Shortly before 6 p.m., the woman said she awoke to find a man on top of her and he forced his fingers inside her, according to the complaint. She said he pinned her down and kissed her until she was able to shout at him and push him away.
“The man, Anthony Casiquito, appeared surprised and stumbled out of the room,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “(The woman) followed him out of the room and saw Anthony Casiquito climb onto the gurney that was outside of her bedroom. She then alerted hospital staff.”
The security guards told police they saw Casiquito go to the bathroom “several times” to wash his hands. Security camera video shows Casiquito entering the woman’s room at 5:50 p.m. and exiting 37 seconds later.
When an APD officer contacted Casiquito, he spat at the officer, but missed.
He was still at the county jail Wednesday evening.
A Lovelace spokeswoman did not answer questions about the incident, but did write in an email that “patient safety is a top priority and we are working closely with the authorities.”
abqjournal.com
