Ex-nurse asst. sentenced for patient sex assaults

HILLSBORO, Ore. (KOIN) — A former nursing assistant at Providence Saint Vincent was sentenced on Wednesday morning to 25 years for sexually assaulting several patients.

He pleaded guilty to the charges on Friday but tried to change his mind on Wednesday morning.

Before he received his sentence inside Washington County Court, AdeladiIew Mekonen had to listen to several letters from his victims and family members of his victims about the pain he caused them.

District Attorney Megan Johnson had pages upon pages of messages from victims on Wednesday morning. They described in detail what they felt about the man who pleaded guilty to 28 sex crimes against a dozen women.

The former nursing assistant was arrested in 2016, just a few months after he was hired at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, where 7 victims had been under his care.

While he declined to go on camera, the son of Mekonen’s oldest victim, who was 94 at the time, read a statement in person in court. It condemned the healthcare system for not giving his mother the choice to avoid the treatment of a person like Mekonen.

Mekonen entered his guilty plea on Friday as part of an agreed settlement, but he tried to take his plea back, saying he hadn’t fully understood the deal.

Judge Beth Roberts rejected that argument, and the sentencing went forward as scheduled, with Mekonen receiving the 25-year term he’d originally agreed to.

After he serves his 25-year sentence, Mekonen will be kept under supervision. Part of that supervision will prevent him from coming into contact with people over the age of 65 or other adults who are considered vulnerable.