Lexington nurse tech charged with first-degree sodomy involving incapacitated patient

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – A Lexington nurse technician has been charged with first-degree sodomy after a patient reported being sexually assaulted at a rehabilitation facility, according to a criminal complaint filed in Fayette District Court.

The complaint states that on October 26, a Lexington Police detective responded to Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Center on Versailles Road for a report of a sexual assault involving a patient and a male nurse tech. According to the complaint, the patient had recently undergone spinal surgery and was transferred to the facility several days before the incident. The document says the patient was physically helpless at the time due to her medical condition.

According to the complaint, the patient told the responding officer that on October 23, sometime after a shift change around 7 p.m., the suspect — identified in the complaint as 61-year-old Johnnie Sparkman — sexually assaulted her

The criminal complaint also states that the patient reported an off-putting comment from Sparkman before the incident, which she described as inappropriate.

Sparkman is charged with first-degree sodomy involving an individual who was physically helpless, according to the criminal complaint.