ORLANDO, Fla. — Years after a woman was assaulted inside Florida Hospital's Center for Behavioral Health, she and her family have filed a lawsuit.
The victim's father told Channel 9 that in November 2013, his 26-year-old daughter was supposed to be getting help for schizophrenic hallucinations. Instead, he said she was sexually assaulted by another patient.
Antoine Davis was convicted of the crime and is set to serve six year in prison, but the victim's father recently filed a lawsuit against the hospital, saying his daughter no longer trusts health care facilities, which has made her life incredibly difficult because she is living with the mental capacity of a child.
"There are no words that really adequately capture what I feel and what happened to my daughter," said Jim Karlen.
The crime was caught on camera, but Karlen believes if it weren't for his actions, the case might not have been investigated.
"Their intent was to convince my daughter that the incident never happened or if it did happen, it didn't happen to the degree she was complaining of," he said.
The suit claims a hospital staffer who might have witnessed the assault did nothing and that Karlen's daughter, who has an IQ of 62, was then medicated during an interrogation.
Court records show the Orlando Police Department had to get a warrant to obtain the video of the incident two months after it happened. It was then that they arrested Davis.
"There was no exam performed," said Karlen. "It's like the criminal justice system was completely abated and suspended."
Karlen and his attorneys said the hospital is just as culpable as Davis.
"Heads should roll at a minimum at Florida Hospital," said attorney Eric Faddis.
WFTV
