Nurse jailed for sexually assaulting woman in her home
A community nurse who sexually assaulted an 85-year-old woman in her home has been jailed for four and a half years.
Steven Hicks, 60, was convicted last week of one count of sexual assault by touching, following a trial at Reading Crown Court.
“This was a shocking crime carried out by someone in a trusted profession”
Shilpa Shah
Hicks, of Quentin Road, Woodley, was working as a registered nurse on the NHS Rapid Response Team when the crime was committed.
He had accessed the woman’s clinical records several times, often when he was on annual leave, while she was receiving out-of-hospital care following a fall.
On 5 January 2022, he made unscheduled evening visit to the woman’s home in Earley, disguised with a surgical mask and thick-rimmed glasses.
It was at the property where Hicks sexually assaulted the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer, Shilpa Shah, said: “This was a shocking crime carried out by someone in a trusted profession.
“Steven Hicks knew the victim was vulnerable and that no other carers were due to visit her that evening, and he used his position to gain access to her home to assault her, in her own bedroom.”
Hicks denied the assault, but a jury found him guilty after the CPS presented forensic and phone evidence which linked him to the offence.
This evidence was supported by a detailed account from the victim about what had happened to her, as well as footage from her video doorbell confirming someone had gone into her home the evening the assault took place.
Ms Shah said: “His DNA matched that found on the victim and her clothing, and his phone data placed him near her home at the time of the offence.
She added: “He will now spend time in prison for his crime.”
Hicks’s entry on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register shows he is currently subject to an interim suspension order, meaning he is unable to practise as a nurse.
