Teenager charged with sexually assaulting hospital patient held on $200,000 bond
![Soumo_Gorden_Kennedy[1].jpg](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2011/09/Soumo_Gorden_Kennedy[1]-thumb-150x223-89794.jpg)
Soumo Gorden Kennedy
A teenager accused of sexually assaulting a female patient at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in August is being held on a $200,000 cash bond.
Soumo Gorden Kennedy, 17, who has no fixed address, was arraigned this afternoon at the Washtenaw County Jail on charges of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving force or coercion.
University of Michigan police said Kennedy sexually assaulted a patient about 9:40 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Ann Arbor hospital, where he was visiting another patient. The victim was being treated for multiple traumatic injuries at the time, university police Det. Ryan Cavanaugh said in court today.
Cavanaugh requested a $100,000 cash bond, saying Kennedy is a predator, danger to society and flight risk. Investigators have said the victim was staying in a room with at least one other patient. But Cavanaugh said Kennedy waited until the victim was alone to assault her.
Kennedy was convicted in 2008 in Wayne County of third-degree home invasion. He escaped from custody in April, Cavanaugh said. It's unclear what level of supervision Kennedy was under.
When Magistrate Thomas Truesdell asked Kennedy whether he had a warrant out for his arrest, Kennedy said, "Yeah. I ran away from a foster home."
Kennedy said he is single, doesn't have children and is unemployed. Truesdell said he would appoint a public defender to represent Kennedy and ordered that Kennedy have no contact with the victim.
Police said the victim came forward Sept. 20 to report the incident. Kennedy was arrested Wednesday night in Ypsilanti.
University police spokeswoman Diane Brown declined to release the victim's age, saying only that she was older than 16. Brown also declined to say where in the hospital the assault occurred and whether the victim was under the influence of medication.
University of Michigan Health System released a statement today, saying the administration at the hospital is "taking these accusations seriously and is cooperating fully with police."
"Mott Children's Hospital is a safe community that works thoughtfully to care for and protect its patients," the statement says. "There are robust security measures in place on all floors and our patient safety is our number one priority. We are unable to make further comments because there is an ongoing criminal investigation."
If convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, Kennedy faces up to 15 years in prison.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 12.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
aawolve
Tue, Oct 4, 2011 : 4:44 p.m.
Knowing the security there, I'm only surprised that he didn't escape by bus.
15crown00
Mon, Oct 3, 2011 : 10:56 a.m.
just remand him.don't want this person on the streets at all ever again.
phat-baby
Sun, Oct 2, 2011 : 8:52 p.m.
where was the staff in the hospital while this was going on? this is a children hospital so someone should have been checking on the victim.
JMA2Y
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.
I hope UM is doing a Risk Assessment to see who was on staff, why they did/didn't notice what was happening; that the victim is working with Risk and Legal to determine why no one was around to keep an eye on her and what might be her compensation; who was on staff at that time; what orders in UM-CareLink were scheduled and taken/not taken care of on time that may have prevented the assault.
Rusnak
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 1:43 p.m.
As a vendor that visits some of the local hospitals, access to all of them is pretty lax. There is no badge required for vendors or, background check. (With St. Joe's being the exception). Just about anyone of the local hospital the times I've been stopped or, questioned I don't think I can count on one hand. The one thing that gets me on this though is God forbid if you park in the wrong spot at U of M. Deputy Dawg will be there with a ticket in a matter of minutes. Maybe Deputy Dawg should focus on security for the patients rather than who's parked/standing for 5 minutes to drop something off quick.
KeepingItReal
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 1:17 p.m.
There's something about this case that does not quite fit. If this guy is guilty by all means he should be prosecuted. It's hard to imagine this happening in a hospital. However, he has a public defender which almost guarantee he will be found guilty of something.
trespass
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 10:38 a.m.
In order to evaluate security measures it would be helpful to have more information about how severely incapacitated the patient was. There should have been a nurse call button on her bed. Did she press the button? Could she press the button? Was the button pressed but the nurse did not respond quickly enough? Was the button placed out of reach? Was the patient intubated and unable to speak (did this delay her reporting)? Have any hospital personnel been disciplined because of this incident? Is the patient still in the hospital and did the perpetrator return (is that why she reported it)? Have their been sexual assaults of patients before? What changes in security did the Hospital make after those incidents? If patients and their families are going to feel safe in the future, the public needs to know how the Hospital is responding to the incident.
Kara Marie
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 10:23 a.m.
Lovely, now I have to be worried about going in for an MRI alone at the U of M hospital..
A Voice of Reason
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 3:45 a.m.
Maybe the patient did not report the crime until a month later because they were sick in the hospital! This is horrible and Mott needs to evaluate their patient safety possible. These are sick children and most organization set up measures to protect children. Why would it be different in a hospital where they are in the care of nurse/doctors and their parents are not present all the time.
rainbow
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 11:01 p.m.
Come on, really.....
Gramma
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 10:46 p.m.
It's amazing to me that all this went on with no one noticing that something was amiss. Was there concern about a "visitor" being around so long? Where did the other patient go? I hope these questions are answered.
gofigure
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 10:39 p.m.
I didn't realize Minors' photos could be shown.
A2Resident
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 10:25 p.m.
How horrible!! I'm curious how they knew it was him? Especially after the report was made a month later?
paulczar
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 10:20 p.m.
Those are some serious charges for a guy who is still a minor.
observer
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 8:37 p.m.
Chief O'Dell takes over and crimes are solved........do you think he is worth the money now?
whateva
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 8:18 p.m.
University of Michigan police said Kennedy sexually assaulted a patient about 9:40 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Ann Arbor hospital, The victim was being treated for multiple traumatic injuries at the time Police said the victim came forward Sept. 20 to report the incident. Why did it take a whole month to remember? WHATEVA.....
MikeyP
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 2:54 a.m.
People need to keep in mind that sexual assaults very often go unreported entirely. To have something like that happen to you is incredibly devastating, even in cases where there is little physical harm the emotional harm can literally be fatal. Not to mention the "Is she lying? Is she jealous? Did she provoke it" hearsay that further compounds the pain a survivor may be going through. It takes a lot of courage to face up to all of that. Little wonder that sometimes it takes awhile for someone facing that daunting challenge to report it, and for some to simply never report it at all. I don't think second-guessing one of those who was willing to come forward helps really... in fact it could lead the next victim to say, "Forget it, I'm not going through that, I've been through enough!" and the rapist gets off without even a slap on the wrist. We're all free to have our opinions of course, but remember that none of us have all of the information in this. There is doubtless a lot more to the story than we're getting, than can even be released legally. But let's not punish the girl for doing something perhaps none of us would have the courage to do. Would you want to say what you posted directly to her face? If you're posting it to a public website you might as well be. Keep that in mind.
Wolf's Bane
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
Geez, how about some birth control around here??? If you don't want them and afford them, don't have them!
Sciomanone1
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
The security is so so bad at the U of M Medical Center, and so one does care. When I worked in the Emergency room on the Midnight shift, a Young black man jumped over the counter where I was working and put a knife at my throat and said white boy where is my girl friend. I did not know who or where she was and found out she was being treated from him beating her. I shared this with the top administration and when the supervisor and the administrator from the er found out, I was not given my promotion, no raise and my vacation was canceled. Later, I was told that I was a raceist because I am white. Good luck with the help from the security at the University Hospital, they were no help for me and Icould of been killed. They sent two little females and they just were peeping around the hall way and would not come to help any of us in the ER, after we pushed the panic button.
trespass
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 9:33 a.m.
joe.blow- you have no idea what the HIPPA law says. For one the boyfriend is not a patient. The girlfriend is not identified. Doctors at UM publish journal articles all the time without violating HIPPA as long as the patient cannot be identified. What do you think he said that violated HIPPA?
joe.blow
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 8:53 a.m.
You just broke HIPPA, I would ask that you request AA.com remove your post.
smokeblwr
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 7:20 p.m.
Now that welfare has run out get ready for lots more home invasions and rapings.
Rusnak
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Your comment doesn't even deserve a response.
julieswhimsies
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 9:06 p.m.
What?...HUH?!
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 8:33 p.m.
That makes no sense.
Sallyxyz
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 6:44 p.m.
Here we have a sexual predator who committed a home invasion previously and escaped custody in April and has no known address. Lock up this thug for good before anyone else is harmed by this monster. The victim was in a hospital being treated for multiple traumatic injuries and is sexually assaulted while in a hospital room? There needs to be MUCH more security at the hospital for patients, to say the least.
RJA
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 6:28 p.m.
Oh my, this story gives me goose-bumps. I for-see a fixed address coming soon.