Indecent Contact With Patient Ends With Former Nurse's Guilty Plea

NORRISTOWN, PA — A man who worked as a nurse at a local rehabilitation facility has pleaded guilty in connection with the indecent assault of a female patient at the center, an act that was reportedly caught on video when the victim secretly filmed the assault on an electronic device, according to news reports and court records.

Charles Henry Dalce, 70, of Upper Darby, Delaware County, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to three separate misdemeanor counts of indecent assault without the consent of others.

Records show Dalce was sentenced by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein to a total of six years of probation in connection with his Nov. 7 guilty pleas.

The Mercury newspaper reported that the case dated back to September 2020, when investigators were tipped off to the assault by a relative of the 50-year-old victim, who said the woman had been molested by a male nurse at the Suburban Woods Health and Rehabilitation Center in East Norriton Township.

The victim reportedly stated that she had been sexually assaulted by her male nurse, but that when initially questioned, Dalce apparently denied doing anything inappropriate.

The woman said she had set up her iPad next to her bed to secretly record the final encounter, since she said she was molested by Dalce in the past, according to the Mercury report.

Patch also reported on the case in January of last year after the victim filed a civil suit in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court against Dalce, the rehab center and its owners.

Related: Norristown Rehab Center Sued After Patient Sexually Assaulted

The civil action was filed on Jan. 12, 2021.

A review of civil court records shows that the case continues to be active.

The victim in the case had been residing at the rehab center where she was receiving regular physical therapy and other assistance at the time the assaults occurred.

"The deterioration of her health and physical condition was negligently accelerated and resulted in both physical and severe emotional injuries, a loss of dignity, degradation, severe emotional trauma, severe pain and suffering, extreme mental anguish, fright and shock, anxiety, depression, loss of sleep, past and future impairment of ability to enjoy life, and unnecessary hospitalizations," the complaint states.

Saber Healthcare, one of the defendants named in the litigation, is the parent company that owns Suburban Woods.

Patch previously reported that Dalce had his nursing license revoked by the state after his arrest.

Suburban Woods is located at 2751 DeKalb Pike in East Norriton and caters to patients from throughout the region.

As for the criminal case, Judge Rothstein, in addition to the probation sentence, ordered that Dalce register as a sex offender for 15 years, have no contact with the victim, undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation and a Sexually Violent Predator Assessment.

Court records from the criminal case show that other charges were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea on the three misdemeanor counts.

This included a felony charge of aggravated indecent assault without consent, in addition to two other misdemeanors.