A former emergency-room nurse could be sent to prison for up to 20 years when he is sentenced Thursday for sedating and fondling patients under his care.
Jason Laurie, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of open and gross lewdness for fondling the breasts of two female patients, and no contest to a second count of open and gross lewdness pertaining to five patients and to administering a controlled substance to aid in the commission of a crime.
In exchange for the plea, nine additional counts were dropped.
Laurie, a former Carson-Tahoe Hospital emergency-room nurse, was arrested Feb. 14, 2003, after a woman told police he drugged her and sexually assaulted her while she was under his care at the hospital.
Six other women subsequently came forward to claim they too had been accosted by Laurie.
The open and gross lewdness charges carry a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. The drug charge is 12 months to 20 years.
Laurie remains free on $125,000 bail.
Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.