Ex-Nurse Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Bedridden Patients To Stand Trial

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — A judge ruled Thursday that a former nurse accused of sexually assaulting bedridden patients must stand trial.

Paul Robert Simon, 53, faces up to six years in prison if  convicted.

He is charged with three counts each of sexual battery on a medically incapacitated person and lewd acts by a caretaker on a dependent adult.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Mandio ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing for March 21.

Judge Mandio also left Simon's bail at $200,000.

Simon is accused of committed the sexual assaults while working at the Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Simon sexually assaulted one victim -- a  58-year-old woman --  April 2009.  At the time of the alleged incident, the woman was was briefly on life support but emerged mentally alert.

The woman said Simon went to her bedside and used her hand to masturbate him. On another occasion, he molested her while giving her a bath.

In August 2010, Simon was allegedly seen by a coworker feeling the inner thigh of a 57-year-old patient who was unconscious in her bed.

The hospital later fired him.

The defendant was being held at the Southwest Detention Center.