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Former hospital employee accused of sexually abusing unconscious teen patient

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BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Baltimore County Police have arrested a former hospital employee and charged him with sexually assaulting his unconscious underage patient.

The alleged incident happened back in 2016 at Baltimore County's Medstar Franklin Square Hospital.

Baltimore County Police were made aware of the incident about a month ago, when they received a tip that former hospital employee, Donald Joseph Benson Jr., may have been viewing child pornography.

"We recovered not only images that was consistent of child pornography but also images of one patient," said Baltimore County Police spokeswoman Jenifer Peach.

That patient, turned out to be a teenage girl.

The images showed Benson sexually assaulting her at the hospital back in September 2016, and according to police she was unconscious when it happened.

"She didn't know she was being victimized," said Peach.

That's why police say the victim never came forward to report the assault.

"This man took advantage of a patient while this patient wasn't able to defend themselves didn't know about it while in his care," Peach said.

Benson was arrested on Thursday, on a number of sex offense charges including sexual abusing a minor. In a Friday review, he was denied bail.

In a statement released Monday, the hospital said Benson was immediately fired once they heard about the allegations.

"The safety and care of our patients is paramount. We were appalled to learn that one of our associates is alleged to have abused a patient in our care. As soon as we heard, we terminated the associate’s employment and have offered our full cooperation to law enforcement."

Meanwhile, police say they're investigating if there are any other victims out there.

"It's important to us to make sure any other potential victims of his come forward to us so we can build a strong case against this man," Peach said.

If you know anything, the number to call is 410-853-3650.