Melissa Tompkins hides her face as she arrives Thursday, with attorneys for a preliminary hearing in Greensburg.
Attorney Samuel Cordes got emotional Thursday while discussing how a woman in her 90s became an unknowing subject in a video recording while she was a patient at Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.
Her nude body was visible in the video that police say was taken without her consent by a registered nurse who worked there, Cordes said.
"To be exposed like that on a cell phone camera, and then those pictures were passed around to different people," he said. "She's a very proud and very private person, and it affects you."
Cordes has filed a notice of an intent to sue Independence Health System and two registered nurses who police say took and shared photos and made recordings of Westmoreland Hospital patients without their permission.
Several patients involved in the case, along with civil attorneys, appeared Thursday in district court in Greensburg for the scheduled preliminary hearings of Peter Castellano, 36, of Pittsburgh's Fineview neighborhood, and Melissa Tompkins, 36, of Baldwin. Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker amended some of the counts against them, adding charges of abuse of a care-dependent person against both suspects.
Counts of invasion of privacy were withdrawn. Castellano and Tompkins both are charged with disclosing intercepted communications, criminal use of a communication facility and harassment. They waived their rights to preliminary hearings.
They are no longer employed at the Greensburg hospital.
Attorney Eric Dee said he is representing one of the patients and plans to file a civil lawsuit if the matter isn't resolved outside of court.
"We're still in the process of investigating what happened, what's going on," he said.
Greensburg police said in court papers filed last month that they learned of a group text message thread among Castellano, Tompkins and two techs at the hospital that indicated the suspects improperly treated patients, according to court papers. Messages obtained by police showed audio and video recordings and images of patients were sent in the thread from numbers belonging to Castellano and Tompkins, investigators said.
In some of those photos, patients were naked inside their hospital rooms, while others were partially clothed, police said. In one instance, Castellano is accused of superimposing co-workers' faces on a photo of a naked patient.
Some videos showed the suspects antagonizing patients, including one instance in which a patient was crying, police said.
The patients were not aware of the photos or recordings and did not give consent, according to court papers. An estimated 10 patients were involved. The others involved in the text message thread will not be charged, police said.
Castellano and Tompkins have denied the allegations.
'Childish behavior'
Tompkins' attorney Casey White said the invasion of privacy counts that were withdrawn would have carried a Megan's Law registration requirement, if his client was convicted.
"Putting aside whether or not they did what (police) said they did, this was not a sexually-driven crime or crimes," he said. "The Commonwealth's agreed with our position that this was not based on a sexual desire, and likely more on a childish behavior."
Castellano's attorney Casey Mullen said he was unaware of the pending suit filed by Cordes. The two suspects are free on $40,000 unsecured bail and are forbidden from holding caretaking jobs while their cases are pending.
Castellano's license as a registered nurse was issued in 2022, according to state records. Tompkins was licensed as a registered nurse under the last name Marsh in 2020. Neither had disciplinary actions filed Thursday.
Investigative process
The Department of State can learn through a variety of means that a person who holds a professional license issued by Pennsylvania has been charged with a crime. Those can include complaints filed with the department, notification from police or media reports, said Geoff Morrow, communications deputy director.
Staff members review the criminal complaint filed against the licensee and may open an investigation, depending on the nature of the charges. Formal action taken against a licensee can vary depending on the individual circumstances, he said.
Those actions can include an immediate temporary suspension, an order to show cause and/or a consent agreement.
"The amount of time it takes to investigate and prosecute a case will depend on the facts, circumstances and complexity of each individual case," Morrow said.
There are 29 boards and commissions that handle licensing for professionals, ranging from doctors and nurses to barbers and veterinarians. Each follows its own process for investigations and not all criminal convictions result in disciplinary action against a licensee, Morrow said.
There are 245,230 licensed registered nurses in Pennsylvania, according to statistics provided by state officials. Others licensed through the State Board of Nursing include nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, dietitians/nutritionists and practical nurses, for 320,165 total licensees, including registered nurses.
Between 2018 to Sept. 30, about 4,900 cases were opened by the State Board of Nursing involving criminal charges. In the same time period, 70 nursing licenses were revoked, which included 48 that were related to criminal charges.