Traumatized By Treatment, Woman Says

A 19-year-old woman who police said was sexually assaulted after a man slipped her a date rape drug at a bar in Montauk said on Monday that the treatment she received at the Southampton Hospital emergency room was like "a second trauma."

The doctor she saw in the emergency room that night did not call East Hampton Town police to report a rape or sexual assault victim, according to East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris. Chief Sarris said that he did not know if she had even been given the option of calling the police from the hospital.

"That's unacceptable," he said yesterday. "Common sense would dictate they would call us so we can get the evidence we need," he added. In general, hospitals ask rape and sexual assault victims if they want police to be called, the chief said.

The woman, who will be called Marie to protect her anonymity, said on Monday that the doctor did not perform an internal exam or blood test, did not collect forensic evidence, and did not test her for the presence of a "date rape" drug. He did not offer her a morning-after pill or preventive medication for sexually transmitted diseases, Marie said.

"I felt I was violated by him as well. He didn't do anything for me," said the young woman, who was interviewed with her mother present.

The woman, who lives in Washington State, said she went to the bar on the night of Aug. 14 with a 21-year-old friend she was visiting in East Hampton, who will be called Jane. They were accompanied by three male friends. Jane, who accompanied Marie to the emergency room, said that the doctor didn't seem to believe them. "He was even questioning our having been in Montauk," she said on Tuesday.

According to Marie, she drank one glass of wine before going to the bar with her friends. At the bar, she drank a vodka with pineapple juice, ordered a second, and drank about half of it.

She became disoriented and confused, and was led from the bar at about 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 15 by a man who had sexual intercourse with her outdoors, not far from the bar, police said. Marie said that her memory of the evening is only fragmentary, and she does not remember talking to the man before finding herself led outside.

Based on her behavior and the amount of alcohol she had drunk, police said that Marie had probably been given a "date rape" drug at some point in the evening.

Jane said she was with Marie "all night," leaving her alone on the dance floor only for about five minutes, and then Marie "was gone." Marie returned to the bar about 40 minutes later, Jane said, and told her what had happened, while "crying hysterically and almost hyperventilating." Jane called her parents and the three of them took Marie to the Southampton Hospital emergency room.

Arriving at around 3 a.m., they told hospital personnel that they thought Marie had been raped, Jane said. She remained in the examining room with Marie while her parents sat in the waiting room.

"I remember telling the doctor that we hadn't been drinking that much and I thought she might have been drugged. Her eyes weren't focusing," Jane said. However, the doctor did not test her for "date rape" drugs such as gamma hydroxybutyrate, Ketamine, and Rohypnol, evidence of which leaves the body quickly, and must be tested for as soon as possible.

Jane said that Marie was still acting in a confused manner and told the doctor at one point that the man might have sexually assaulted her but not necessarily raped her. She made it quite clear to him that she had been assaulted, however, Jane said.

Marie said that she repeatedly told the doctor that the man had hurt her inside, and showed the doctor where the pain was coming from, on her lower abdomen. When she said, " 'Maybe it's just nerves,' " the doctor agreed, Marie said.

When Marie was examined the next day at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson she was told she had a cut on her cervix.

While at the Southampton Hospital emergency room, Marie agreed with Jane that she should have a full exam and that the doctor should check for forensic evidence, using a sexual evidence collection kit, commonly called a "rape kit." But when the nurse brought the kit into the examining room, the doctor said, " 'That won't be necessary,' " Marie said.

"He kept telling us that if we wanted a rape kit done we should go UpIsland," Jane said, adding that she wasn't sure what he meant.

The doctor did perform an external exam, noting that Marie had " 'some bruising' " on her thighs and offering to give her medication for anxiety, Jane said. He then sent her home with instructions to " 'rest' " and to call East Hampton Town police if she wished to file a report. He also provided her with the number of the Victims Information Bureau Hotline, Marie said.

A little more than a day later, on the afternoon of Aug. 16, Marie and Jane visited East Hampton Town police to file a report. The detective they spoke with "was mad that the hospital hadn't called police," Marie said.

Marie said that the detective called the hospital and made an appointment for the " 'head nurse' " to perform an examination using a rape kit. When Marie, Jane, and the detective arrived at the hospital, they were told that the head nurse was in a meeting, Marie said, and in fact she never appeared.

According to Sharon DiSunno, the hospital's vice president of quality management, the nurse did not appear due to an "employee misunderstanding," for she had left explicit instructions with staff members to call her out of the meeting when Marie arrived.

Jane said that another nurse became angry at the detective and called him " 'lazy' " for not taking Marie " 'UpIsland' " for an exam. Chief Sarris said that town police usually take rape and sexual assault victims to the rape unit at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, where nurses are trained to collect forensic evidence and provide medical care after sexual assault incidents. In Marie's case, however, police decided that forensic evidence should be gathered as quickly as possible - more than a day had passed since the incident.

"They were not cooperating," Marie said of the Southampton Hospital staff, "and the detective decided to take me to Port Jefferson." At Mather, a nurse performed a full internal and external exam, collected forensic evidence, took Marie's blood pressure, and tested her urine and blood. The nurse also gave her preventive drugs for sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis B, and a 30-day preventive regimen for H.I.V.

She was also given a "morning-after pill," The examining nurse told Marie that she had a cut on her cervix.

"Thank goodness she went to the hospital again. She was cut pretty badly inside," Jane said.

The detective, Marie, and Jane left the hospital at around 10 p.m.

Alyson Ryan, a coordinator at Mather Memorial Hospital, said that preventive drugs must be given to victims of sexual assault or rape within 96 hours of the incident. She also said that the New York State Department of Health had issued a protocol to be followed for "acute care of adult patients reporting sexual assault" in emergency rooms.

According to section 2805-i of the Public Health Law, "sexual assault evidence shall be collected, unless the patient signs a statement directing the hospital not to collect it."

In addition, the protocol for care of victims of sexual assault says the following: "Providing consistent, comprehensive care and evidence collection must rely on the patient reporting that she has been sexually assaulted, rather than the emergency department staff's analysis of the patient's allegations, and whether these allegations constitute assault or rape."

Ms. DiSunno, who said she would be violating privacy laws if she said anything about Marie's specific case, would only say that hospital procedure in the case of sexual assaults is "based on terminology that the patient uses." She would not elaborate any further, but said that the doctor who examined Marie on Aug. 16 was a "superb physician" and "did his job." Marie and her mother filed a complaint against the hospital with Ms. DiSunno last week.

The Southampton Hospital doctor "could have messed up my life," Marie said. "The medications they gave me [at Mather Memorial Hospital] were so important," she said.

Marie had words of praise for the East Hampton Town police detective who took her to the hospital and wrote the crime report, calling him "amazing."

Police recently reported that a similar incident occurred at the same Montauk bar that Marie had visited, the week before, on Aug. 7. A 39-year-old Locust Valley woman ordered a drink, became disoriented and confused, suffered from fragmented memory, and was led from the bar by a man who had sexual intercourse with her nearby.

Police said the two incidents did not involve the same man. The man who led Marie from the bar was in his mid-20s, about six feet tall, of medium build, with short dark hair. The man who assaulted the woman from Locust Valley was in his mid-40s, stood about six feet tall, and had straight, medium-length blond hair.