A male nurse molested sedated female patients, and a simple background check would have revealed his past

A male nurse convicted in Adams County, Colorado, has been slapped with a 12-year prison sentence for molesting a sedated patient. Investigators say 45-year-old Thomas Moore molested at least 10 patients in Colorado and Wyoming; he still faces charges in the latter state, reports KDVR.

But the state of Colorado is also taking blame for Moore being able to work in a hospital and commit these acts. Moore never had to pass a background check, because at the time he was hired, Colorado was one of five states that did not allow state regulators to collect fingerprints for background checks on nurses. The law has since been changed, KDVR reports.

“If Thomas Moore would have been investigated or properly been looked into, he wouldn’t have been hired anywhere else. He would have lost his license a long time ago,” said one of the victims, who asked to have her identity protected while giving an interview to KDVR.

The woman’s story is similar to testimonials other victims have given to investigators, according to prosecutors working the case. They say that after giving patients powerful narcotics, such as morphine, to treat migraines, Moore would assault them.

“I vaguely remembered him climbing into bed with me and laying there and massaging my breasts,” the unnamed victim told KDVR.

In 2014, Moore had his nursing license revoked in the state of Alaska because he had been arrested for DUI and convicted of child abuse in 2011.

His Colorado license wasn’t suspended until January 2016, after he was arrested for allegedly molesting patients in Larimer County, but the charges don’t stop there. According to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, Moore was similarly accused of assaulting five female patients at a UC Health emergency room in Greeley, Colorado, between March 2014 and April 2015, according to 9News.

Those five women stepped forward after Moore was arrested in Fort Collins on charges of sexually assaulting more patients there.

Senior Weld County Deputy District Attorney Chris Rossi told 9News that Moore targeted victims while they were drugged, and thus unable to fight back.

“He used his position as an ER nurse and took advantage of these vulnerable victims,” Rossi said.

Moore’s 12-year sentence in Adams County will run concurrently with the 12-year sentence he received in December after he pleaded guilty to the attempted sexual assault of other patients in Weld County. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.