Man guilty in hospital rape

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FRANKLIN PARK—A man was convicted last week of raping a teenaged volunteer at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in 2008 while he was a psychiatric patient there.

Vernon Thompson, 40, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday as the Gazette went to press. He faces up to life in prison.

Thompson targeted the volunteer, a girl who was 14 at the time, at first by getting her phone number and calling her repeatedly. Thompson later directed the girl to a stairwell and raped her, where he was caught by a hospital staff member. After the rape, Thompson again asked the girl for her phone number, according to prosecutors.

The girl has not been publicly identified due to her age and the sexual nature of the crime. In a press statement, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley praised her for confronting Thompson in court and “possibly saving another young girl from victimization.”

Shattuck Hospital, at 170 Morton St. in Franklin Park, is a state hospital that treats members of the public as well as prisoners. It includes a secure psychiatric unit.

From a press release.

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