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Man accused of raping fellow patient at Boston Medical Center pleads not guilty
In her detention order, Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis noted Barry Howze’s alleged victim was “particularly vulnerable” because she was paralyzed on one side of her body.
A Boston man accused of raping another patient at Boston Medical Center in September pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges Monday.
Barry Howze, 55, is charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14, one count of assault and battery on a person with a disability, and one count of witness intimidation.
Prosecutors allege Howze assaulted a fellow patient while in the emergency room at BMC shortly after midnight on Sept. 14. A Suffolk County grand jury indicted him Dec. 12.
He was ordered held without bail following his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court Monday, court records show. An attorney for Howze was not immediately available for comment.
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Court records indicate Howze has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was under a Section 12 psychiatric hold when the alleged assault occurred. According to prosecutors, Howze was supposed to be monitored closely, meaning hospital staff should have been with him at all times.
However, prosecutors allege Howze “eloped” and was caught on video freely roaming the ER halls.
“This was a true crime of opportunity,” Assistant District Attorney Kate Fraiman alleged. “The defendant did not know the victim and it is not known what his intentions were when he escaped his psychiatric hold. What is known, however, is what happened to the victim next.”
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In her detention order, Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis noted Howze’s alleged victim was “particularly vulnerable” because she was paralyzed on one side of her body and had been admitted to the emergency room for post-operative complications. Howze purportedly entered the alleged victim’s hospital bay, “crept” under her bed, and removed her call button before raping her, per the judge’s findings.
A nurse walked in to find the alleged victim looking scared, with Howze still under the bed, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“It wasn’t until the nurse said, ‘do you know him?’ that he fled,” Fraiman alleged. “This assault was brutal, and brazen, and occurred in a place where people go for help.”
However, defense Attorney Thomas Glynn said Howze was “out of his mind” at the time and placed partial blame on Boston Medical Center for “letting this man, in his condition, to wander.”
“This is a man that came in on a serious medical condition and should have been treated and should have been isolated,” Glynn said, per a recording shared by the DA’s office. “He was not, and unfortunately we’re here today because of the neglect of hospital staff.”
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Glynn also said Howze has been medicated since his initial arraignment, which has made him more lucid.
“The facts here point to a deeply troubling crime of opportunity against a victim who was not only lying ill on a hospital bed, but was rendered even more defenseless by paralysis on one side of her body,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “A dangerousness finding is entirely appropriate given these allegations.”
Court records show Howze also has a lengthy history of criminal cases out of Boston, ranging from drug offenses to assault charges. He is due back in court Feb. 26.
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