NHS nurse fled to home country after being accused of raping patient, tribunal told

NHS nurse fled to home country after being accused of raping patient, tribunal told Ioan Fechete faced sexual assault and rape charges in Britain - Bookmark A Romanian nurse fled to his home country after being accused of raping a patient at an NHS hospital during his night shift, a tribunal heard. Ioan Fechete faced sexual assault and rape charges in Britain after he allegedly attacked a 'vulnerable' woman when she was admitted to hospital. The 47-year-old 'abused his power' by exposing himself to the patient in hospital and 'pressurised' her to perform a sex act on him while he was looking after her, it was heard. Then Fechete is said to have insisted on driving her home - only to pressurise her into performing a sex act on him again during the journey. Fechete denied the sexual assault in an interview with the police, but he failed to attend a magistrates' court hearing - with police believing he is currently in Romania. Now, at a Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] tribunal, details about his alleged crimes have emerged as he has been struck off the British nursing register. It was alleged that in April 2021, a patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was admitted to Lincoln County Hospital, where Fechete was working. She was very 'unwell' as she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. She said that during the night, Fechete exposed himself to her, 'pressurised' her to give him oral sex and 'grabbed her breasts'. The patient also said that Fechete offered to take her home and she agreed because she had no other way of getting home, but he 'pressurised' her again to give him oral sex. When Fechete was interviewed by Lincolnshire Police, he denied ever sexually assaulting the woman. He was charged with rape and sexual assault and he was due to attend his first hearing at Lincoln Magistrates Court on January 23 2025. He did not attend the hearing, and an active warrant was put out for his arrest after the court was satisfied that reasonable attempts had been made to make him aware of the hearing. The tribunal heard: "Mr Fechete was interviewed by Lincolnshire Police and he denied the sexual assault allegation. "Mr Fechete was charged with sexual assault on a female contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and rape of a woman 16 years of age or over contrary to section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. "Mr Fechete was due to attend his first hearing on 23 January 2025 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court but he did not turn up. "As a result, there is an active warrant out for his arrest. "Lincolnshire Police suspect that Mr Fechete is currently in Romania. "Lincolnshire Police have advised that they will not proceed with any further investigation into the allegations unless Mr Fechete returns to the UK." The NMC panel found that Fechete was well aware of the criminal investigation and should have appeared in front of the magistrates' court. Graham Gardner, chair of the NMC tribunal, said: "The panel was satisfied that there was no evidence before it to show that Mr Fechete had not received the court summons. "It also considered that Mr Fechete was well aware that a significant criminal investigation had been undertaken, and that matters had not been concluded. "The panel considered that the court would not have issued a warrant unless it was satisfied that Mr Fechete had received the summons." The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said: "The NMC submitted that the allegations made against Mr Fechete and the related conduct, calls into question his ability to respect boundaries, breach of trust and his lack of attendance in court to answer for criminal charges, demonstrates a lack of engagement with legal accountability and raises serious concerns about Mr Fechete’s willingness to comply with regulatory obligations. "The NMC submitted that this poses a direct and significant risk to public protection." The panel found that this amounted to 'serious misconduct' and that a striking off order was the most appropriate sanction. It said that his actions were aggravated by the fact that the woman was a 'vulnerable patient', his 'abuse of position' and his failure to appear in court. Mr Gardner said: "The panel found that given the seriousness of the alleged offences, complete lack of insight and remorse and Mr Fechete’s refusal to engage with the NMC, his actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and are fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register. "The panel was of the view that the findings in this particular case demonstrate that Mr Fechete’s actions were serious and to allow him to continue practising would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body. "Balancing all of these factors and after taking into account all the evidence before it during this case, the panel determined that the appropriate and proportionate sanction is that of a striking-off order. "Having regard to the matters it identified, in particular the effect of Mr Fechete’s actions in bringing the profession into disrepute by adversely affecting the public’s view of how a registered nurse should conduct himself, the panel has concluded that nothing short of this would be sufficient in this case."