Former St. Peter’s nurse arrested amid allegations he sexually assaulted patient

A former nurse at St. Peter’s Health in Helena has been arrested amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a patient.  

Aaron Gams is accused of sexually assaulting the patient in 2023 while she was under his care in the hospital’s intensive-care unit, according to documents from the state Department of Labor and Industry. 

Gams, who was fired by the hospital during the investigation, was booked Tuesday evening into the Lewis and Clark County jail on charges of “abuse/neglect or exploitation of the elderly,” a felony. His bail was set at $50,000.

The patient initially believed the assault was “a hallucination or a dream related to her health condition and medications,” the Labor Department documents state, but she contacted authorities after Gams texted her numerous times a year later, confirming the assault and asking if “reconnecting is possible.”

Gams, through his attorney, denied the allegations earlier Tuesday and told Montana Free Press that he would challenge the Labor Department’s suspension of his license. 

In a statement to MTFP, a spokesperson for St. Peter’s said the hospital is cooperating with authorities and confirmed that Gams is no longer employed by the hospital.

According to the Department of Labor order suspending Gams’ license, the patient was admitted to St. Peter’s on July 24, 2023, with a serious respiratory issue and later transferred to the hospital’s intensive-care unit when her condition worsened.

While hospitalized, the woman was described as “confused, experiencing hallucinations, in and out of consciousness,” and suffering “significant disorientation,” the documents state.

The patient recalled being sexually assaulted by Gams and that he massaged her back and fondled her breasts underneath her hospital gown, according to allegations in the documents, but she initially believed that she had imagined the assault. 

After the patient was discharged from St. Peter’s Health in early August of 2023, Gams accessed her medical records without authorization and acquired the patient’s cell phone number, according to the documents. 

This past September, about a year after the hospitalization, Gams texted the patient, identifying himself as “Aaron from SPH,” and inquired about the patient’s business. 

The documents state that the patient initially didn’t know who the text message was from and responded, “Who is this?” and “Aaron who?”

Gams eventually acknowledged that the reference to the patient’s business was a ruse, the documents state. 

“I was torn between contacting you and letting time just pass,” Gams wrote in a text to the patient, according to the documents. “I hope my oblique approach wasn’t too confusing — I wasn’t sure how to reach out, given the dynamic of you being ill and me as your RN.”

Gams then asked numerous times to meet with the patient and mentioned his concerns that what had occurred would impact his professional, legal and marital status, according to the documents. He also confirmed the patient’s “recollection of being sexually assaulted in the ICU was not a hallucination or dream, but actually happened,” the documents allege.

When the woman asked for details about the assault, Gams “again requested to talk in person or by phone several times and stated, “I’m conflicted with wanting to share my memory via text,” the documents state. 

According to documents, Gams texted the patient, “I sincerely hope I didn’t cause you ptsd or any trauma-related issues” and “[H]opefully it wasn’t a bad dream.”

In the last text Gams sent to the patient, he apologized and asked if she had or would be filing a complaint, the documents state. 

Both St. Peter’s Health and local law enforcement received reports of Gams’ conduct, and in October, the hospital placed him on paid administrative leave before firing him about two weeks later on Oct. 23 for “inappropriate access of a patient’s chart for personal gain, which is a direct violation of HIPAA, and sexual misconduct with a patient,” according to the documents. 

St. Peter’s Health officials told Gams he needed to self-report his conduct to the Montana Board of Nursing by Oct. 25, and if he failed to do so, the hospital would.

Gams submitted his self-report to the Department of Labor and Industry, which includes the Board of Nursing, on Oct. 24 and stated he was terminated because of “the alleged sexual assault of a patient,” the documents state. 

The next day, Gams submitted a second report to the department because he misstated the basis for his termination. He was fired “not because of sexual assault,” according to the documents. “The formal basis for my termination was sexual misconduct, which is not a crime although it is a violation of workplace policy.”

On Dec. 17, Gams and his Helena attorney, Dylan Gallagher, virtually attended the Board of Nursing screening panel. The panel suspended Gam’s Montana registered nursing license that day. 

In a statement to MTFP, Gallagher said that Gams denies the allegations of sexual assault but admits that he accessed the patient’s medical records. Gallagher added that Gams planned to seek judicial review of the suspension of his nursing license.

“We believe that the Board unlawfully suspended his license by failing to provide him notice of allegations against him and an opportunity to respond, in violation of Montana statutory and constitutional law, and Aaron will be asking the Court to remedy this violation,” Gallagher wrote in the email. “Aaron has not yet filed his petition for judicial review, but he intends to do so before the deadline on January 17, 2025.”

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