More sex assault charges against worker fired from Richmond Hill hospital

York Regional Police are alleging that a personal support worker who was fired from a Richmond Hill hospital after elderly female patients complained he sexually assaulted them went on to get a job at another healthcare facility where he assaulted two more women.

Police charged Shojaadin Mohammad-Zadeh Tuesday with five counts of sexual assault and one count of assault, in addition to one sexual assault charge police laid in February.

Zadeh, 51, was fired from Mackenzie Health hospital in October last year after an internal investigation revealed he allegedly touched four patients inappropriately.

• GTA hospital didn't notify police about allegations seniors had been sexually assaulted

• Mackenzie Health says it could have reported sex assault allegations

In December, Community & Home Assistance to Seniors (CHATS), a York Region non-profit that provides assistance to seniors, hired him to care for elderly residents at Hadley Grange seniors apartments in Aurora, where police say he assaulted two more women.

Mackenzie Health didn't notify police after firing Zadeh last year.  York Regional Police started an investigation after one patient's family filed a complaint.

There is no regulatory body that oversees Ontario's 100,000 personal support workers (PSWs) similar to the colleges that govern nurses and doctors, and no system for health care facilities to share disciplinary action against PSWs. About two thirds of PSWs work in hospitals and long-term care facilities, and one third in people's homes.  

Resident says she told accused to 'stop it'

Details about the new charges are contained in court documents called Information to Obtain a Production Order, or ITOs, filed by police as part of their investigation. The ITOs are based on police interviews with hospital staff, alleged victims and their families, and have not been proven in court.

In the ITOs York Regional Police Const. Stephanie Couture writes that Zadeh assaulted a woman at Hadley Grange by touching her genitals while changing her bedpan.  

The resident, whose identity CBC News is protecting, confirmed the allegation to CBC News, saying she believes Zadeh's actions were clearly intentional.  

"I might be old, but I haven't lost my marbles yet," she said.  "I said stop it."

"I think he should be jailed. Gotten off the street."

CHATS says it did reference, criminal checks on Zadeh

Police say in the ITOs that, according to an interview with Zadeh's former supervisor, he had worked as a casual employee at Hadley Grange in 2013 and 2014.  He was let go after a decrease in government funding. 

CHATS hired Zadeh in December 2015 after he'd been fired from Mackenzie Health.

CHATS CEO Christina Bisanz told CBC News the organization follows a "robust" hiring process that includes reference checks and vulnerable sector screening, which she said didn't flag any concerns with Zadeh.

"We would have done reference checks based on the information he provided us," said Bisanz.

She also said the organization hadn't received any complaints from Zadeh's patients.

"We take very seriously any concerns raised by our clients with respect to their care, and we will continue to support and co-operate as best we can with police."

Mackenzie Health didn't notify police about patient complaints

In the ITO, Const. Couture writes that according to an internal investigation at Mackenzie Health, Zadeh's co-worker witnessed four separate incidents over several months last year where Zadeh inappropriately touched elderly female patients ranging from 88 to 91 years old.

The co-worker didn't report the incidents to hospital management until a patient complaint prompted an internal investigation in October.  Mackenzie Health immediately suspended Zadeh, then fired him two weeks later.  

The hospital didn't notify police about the assaults because, it told CBC News, patients and their families did not allow the hospital to disclose their personal information.  

Hospital spokesperson Melinda Cormier said, "Due to patient privacy legislation, the hospital cannot reveal personal details of a patient's health record or experience to the police, but it can encourage and support the patient … in reporting the concerns directly to police."

York Regional Police started an investigation after one patient's daughter filed a complaint herself.

The woman told CBC News she was surprised when Mackenzie Health management told her the hospital was not mandated to report the assaults. "I'm going, 'but this is a sexual assault!'" she said.   

"How could you be aware of something that occurred, and you don't inform the authorities?"

Alleged assaults include groping, slapping

Police allege in the document that while Zadeh was caring for patients at Mackenzie Health he rubbed a patient's breasts who was unable to speak, and in other cases groped patients' genitals and slapped them while changing their diaper.

The daughter of one patient, whom Zadeh is charged with sexually assaulting in the shower, told CBC News, "it's beyond comprehension. We're still coping with it. We're still reeling from it."

In an interview the police summarize in the ITO, another patient's daughter described her family as devastated by what happened to her mother. The woman says she has been unable to work since learning of the incident.

In the ITO, Const. Couture summarizes a statement police say Zadeh gave a York region detective.  In it he describes immigrating to Canada from Iran in 2012 after a career as a nurse.   

According to police, Zadeh admits to touching patients at Mackenzie Health, but says the touching was "misunderstood" and not sexual.  He claims in every instance he was cleaning patients.  He claims, according to police, that hospital staff "made a monster of him."

Police also say Zadeh completed his PSW certification through a continuing education program at York Region District School Board.