Cherry Hospital worker charged with sexual offense

A worker at a state mental hospital in Goldsboro has been charged with felony sexual offense after he was accused of having sex with a patient.

Perry J. Butler, 36, was a health care technician at Cherry Hospital. Arrest records show the incident occurred Nov. 4, however Butler did not resign from his state job until Nov. 26 — the same day a reporter filed a public information request about the incident with the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Butler, who lives in Mount Olive, was arrested Monday and later released from the Wayne County Jail on a $12,000 secured bond, records show. If convicted on the felony charge, he could face up to 31 months in prison.

Butler could not be reached for comment today.

The News & Observer does not typically identify the alleged victims of sexual assault.

Butler was suspended from his job for three days in August amid the fallout over the death of patient Steven H. Sabock, who choked on his medication, hit his head on the floor and then was left sitting dazed in a chair without food, water or adequate medical care for more than 22 hours.

A hospital security camera that recorded the neglect showed Butler playing cards, fiddling with his cell phone and being hugged and kissed by a female coworker while Sabock sat ailing and unattended a few feet away.

Though three Cherry employees who neglected Sabock were fired, Butler received only the suspension and mandatory retraining.

The video footage was a key piece of evidence reviewed by federal regulators that revoked the hospital’s Medicare and Medicaid funding in September, costing an estimated $800,000 a month in lost revenue.

The most recent arrest at Cherry came less than a week after two other health care technicians were convicted on assault charges for beating a patient in August.

State personnel records show Butler, whose annual salary was $26,548, had been employed at the hospital since 1997.

A search of criminal records raises questions about whether he should have ever been hired for a sensitive position at a mental hospital.

Butler served stints of court-ordered probation for a 1989 shoplifting conviction and a 1999 larceny conviction, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.

He was also convicted of violating that probation four times, court records show, as well for misdemeanor larceny and trespassing in 1991 and again for trespassing in 1993.

Butler was also found guilty on five occasions of writing worthless checks and driving with a license revoked after being twice charged with diving while impaired and other violations.

DHHS conducts criminal background checks on those hired for state hospital jobs, though there is no policy that specifically bars hiring someone who has been convicted of a crime.