Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280129
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Instead, the camera captured an assistant therapist sexually abusing a physically helpless woman as she lay in her bed.
James G. Nowlin, 40, pleaded no contest Monday to the attempted aggravated sexual battery of a 20-year-old woman who has severe brain damage from an automobile accident three years ago.
Nowlin, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was allowed to remain free on bond to await a Jan. 19 sentencing date.
At a hearing in Roanoke Circuit Court, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alice Ekirch provided the following summary:
In July, administrators at the Burrell Nursing Home noticed that some personal items were missing from the room of the victim, who cannot speak or care for herself. Shortly after the hidden camera was installed, it videotaped Nowlin fondling the woman's breasts intermittently over several hours.
The videotape shows Nowlin entering the room and leaving five different times, often looking over his shoulder in the direction of the door before the sexual abuse began.
Nowlin, a certified occupational therapy assistant, had been visiting the woman in her room regularly, even though their physical therapy sessions had ended earlier in the year.
Although the victim can respond to some questions, blinking her eyes to answer yes or no, she was not able to provide any confirmation of the July 20 assault - leaving the videotape as the only evidence against Nowlin.
Because the camera was installed by the nursing home and not police, its use did not become an issue in the case.
"Had they been doing it under the guise of police scrutiny or law enforcement, then there may have been a need" to pursue an argument that probable cause must first be established, said Tony Anderson, a Roanoke lawyer who represents Nowlin.
And courts have held that if camera surveillance or search warrants are used in an effort to detect one crime but instead discover another one, the results are nonetheless admissable in court.
For example, a Roanoke man was convicted last year of staging dog fights after police entered his house with a search warrant for drugs, only to find videotapes that he had made of the dog fights.
As part of a plea agreement in the Nowlin case, prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge from aggravated sexual battery. Such a charge requires proof of physical or emotional injury, Ekirch said, which was impossible to determine because of the victim's mental condition.
Although Judge Clifford Weckstein ruled there was sufficient evidence to convict Nowlin, he agreed to take a final imposition of guilt under advisement until the Jan 19 hearing.
Anderson had asked that the judge review a background report to "learn more about Mr. Nowlin" before making a final decision.
Nowlin, who was certified but not licensed as an occupational therapy assistant, worked for a Richmond firm that was contracted by Burrell. He no longer works at the McDowell Avenue Northwest home.
by CNB