A hospital patient should never have to fear the medical professional assigned to care for her.
Yet authorities allege that travel nurse James Todd sexually assaulted a patient while she received emergency medical treatment at Phelps Health Hospital in Rolla, Missouri. Police reportedly obtained hospital security footage that they say showed Todd committing sexual acts against the patient.
The allegations represent an appalling violation of trust. Patients enter hospitals because they are sick, injured, frightened, medicated, intoxicated, or otherwise vulnerable. Healthcare professionals must protect them—not exploit their condition or access to their bodies.
Todd remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. However, the criminal charges and the search for information from his former patients raise serious questions about where he previously worked, who supervised him, and whether other people may have experienced misconduct.
What Charges Does James Todd Face?
According to Action News 5 and KY3, 42-year-old James Todd of Ripley, Tennessee, faces:
- Two counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy
- One count of first-degree rape or attempted rape
- One count of first-degree sexual abuse
At the time of the initial reports, authorities were holding Todd in the Phelps County Jail without bond.
These are criminal charges. Prosecutors must prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil claim is separate and focuses on accountability and compensation for the harm a survivor suffered.
What Allegedly Happened at Phelps Health Hospital?
Rolla police reportedly responded to Phelps Health Hospital shortly after midnight on June 5, 2026, after a patient reported a sexual assault inside the emergency department.
The woman told investigators that she had gone to the hospital because of low potassium levels. After an ambulance transported her to the hospital, Todd allegedly entered her room and started an IV. She reported that Todd then sexually assaulted her.
The patient also told investigators that Todd was not wearing a name tag during the alleged assault.
Todd reportedly denied engaging in contact beyond ordinary nursing care. He told investigators that the patient was highly intoxicated and belligerent and had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.344.
That alleged level of intoxication does not excuse sexual contact. It underscores the patient’s extreme vulnerability and possible inability to consent or protect herself.
Most significantly, investigators reportedly obtained security footage that police say showed Todd committing sexual acts against the patient. Prosecutors subsequently charged him with multiple felony sexual offenses.
Intoxication Is Not Consent
A patient’s intoxication never gives a healthcare worker permission to engage in sexual contact.
Healthcare professionals often treat patients who are unconscious, sedated, cognitively impaired, intoxicated, experiencing a psychiatric crisis, or unable to understand what is happening. Those circumstances create an even greater duty to maintain professional boundaries and protect the patient.
A patient may also struggle to identify abuse that occurs during medical treatment. Healthcare workers routinely touch patients, insert medical devices, conduct examinations, and ask patients to remove clothing. A perpetrator can exploit that environment by disguising sexual contact as medically necessary care.
Healthcare institutions must create safeguards that account for these risks.
Police Seek Information From Former Patients
The investigation has expanded beyond Missouri.
Todd previously worked in Tennessee, including as a practical nursing instructor at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Covington approximately a decade ago. Officials reportedly said Todd left that position voluntarily and was not fired.
Covington police are now asking former patients, witnesses, and anyone with potentially relevant information about Todd to contact investigators. Police have not publicly alleged that Todd committed misconduct at the school or during any previous employment.
The request for information does not prove that additional incidents occurred. However, it gives former patients and colleagues an opportunity to report conduct that may not have seemed understandable or reportable at the time.
People who experienced questionable contact during medical care may have spent years wondering whether it was legitimate treatment. Public reporting about a healthcare provider can help someone recognize that an encounter may have crossed professional and legal boundaries.
Anyone with information may contact the Covington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 901-475-1261.
Travel Nurse Assignments Can Complicate Institutional Oversight
Travel nurses and contract healthcare professionals fill critical staffing needs. Their employment arrangements, however, may involve several entities, including:
- A hospital or healthcare facility
- A travel nursing agency
- A staffing contractor
- A professional licensing board
- Previous medical employers
- Training or educational institutions
These overlapping relationships can complicate background screening, supervision, complaint reporting, and the sharing of employment information.
When healthcare institutions use contract workers, they should not treat those workers as less deserving of oversight. Hospitals and staffing agencies must determine who verified the nurse’s credentials, checked prior employment, investigated complaints, monitored patient interactions, and responded to warning signs.
The public reporting does not establish that Phelps Health Hospital, a staffing agency, or any previous employer knew about alleged misconduct by Todd. A full investigation should nevertheless examine his complete employment history and determine whether any prior concerns, complaints, disciplinary actions, or unusual departures existed.
When Can a Hospital or Staffing Agency Face Civil Liability?
A criminal case focuses on whether the accused committed a crime. A civil lawsuit may examine both the alleged perpetrator’s conduct and the actions of the institutions that placed the individual in contact with vulnerable patients.
Depending on the facts and applicable law, potential civil claims may involve:
- Negligent hiring or credentialing
- Negligent retention
- Inadequate supervision
- Failure to investigate complaints, to protect vulnerable patients
- To enforce patient-safety policies
- Institutional negligence
- Vicarious liability
- Sexual assault or battery
An institution does not automatically become liable simply because an employee or contractor faces criminal charges. Attorneys must examine what the institution knew or should have known, what safeguards it maintained, and whether its conduct contributed to the survivor’s harm.
Important evidence may include personnel records, prior complaints, disciplinary files, credentialing documents, staffing-agency communications, surveillance footage, access logs, shift records, patient charts, text messages, and internal incident reports.
Healthcare Institutions Must Protect Vulnerable Patients
Hospitals hold extraordinary power over patients. Patients may be undressed, medicated, isolated from family members, physically restrained by medical equipment, or unable to leave a room without assistance.
Facilities should implement meaningful safeguards, including:
- Clear identification requirements for every employee and contractor
- Chaperone policies for intimate examinations
- Accessible patient-reporting procedures
- Prompt preservation of surveillance footage
- Thorough screening of temporary and contract workers
- Immediate investigation of boundary violations
- Training that helps employees recognize predatory conduct
- Strong information-sharing practices among hospitals and staffing agencies
- Protection against retaliation for patients and employees who report concerns
Policies alone are not enough. Institutions must enforce them consistently and respond immediately when a patient reports sexual misconduct.
Survivors May Have Civil Rights Even Without a Criminal Conviction
A survivor does not necessarily need a criminal conviction to pursue a civil case. Criminal and civil proceedings operate independently and use different burdens of proof.
Civil litigation may allow a survivor to seek compensation for:
- Medical and counseling expenses
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma
- Lost wages or reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Other damages recognized under applicable law
Civil litigation may also uncover records and institutional practices that a criminal prosecution does not fully address.
Every case is different, and strict filing deadlines may apply. Those deadlines can depend on the survivor’s age, the location of the assault, the responsible parties, and other circumstances. Anyone considering legal action should speak with an experienced sexual abuse attorney as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is James Todd?
James Todd is a 42-year-old travel or contract nurse from Ripley, Tennessee. Missouri authorities charged him with rape or attempted rape, sodomy or attempted sodomy, and first-degree sexual abuse after a patient reported an alleged assault at Phelps Health Hospital.
Where did the alleged assault occur?
The patient reported that the assault occurred inside the emergency department at Phelps Health Hospital in Rolla, Missouri.
Is there video evidence?
Police reportedly obtained security footage that investigators say showed Todd committing sexual acts against the patient. The existence and meaning of that evidence will ultimately be addressed through the criminal justice process.
Did James Todd work anywhere else?
Reports indicate that Todd previously worked as a practical nursing instructor at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Covington. As a travel nurse, he may also have worked at other healthcare facilities. Police are seeking information from former patients and others who encountered him.
Are police looking for additional victims?
Covington police have asked former patients, witnesses, and anyone with relevant information to come forward. That request does not establish that additional assaults occurred.
Can a hospital be sued for sexual assault committed by a nurse?
Potentially. Liability depends on facts such as the worker’s employment status, prior complaints, supervision, credentialing, institutional policies, and what the hospital or staffing agency knew or should have known.
Can a survivor file a civil lawsuit if the criminal case is still pending?
Possibly. A survivor does not always have to wait for the criminal case to end, but the timing and strategy require careful legal analysis. Filing deadlines may continue to run while a criminal investigation proceeds.
Speaking With a Sexual Abuse Lawyer About Your Rights
Patients place profound trust in nurses, hospitals, and healthcare systems. When a medical professional allegedly exploits a patient’s illness, intoxication, isolation, or incapacity, the survivor deserves answers—and every institution involved should face careful scrutiny.
Andreozzi + Foote represents survivors of sexual abuse and institutional misconduct. Our attorneys investigate both the individual who allegedly caused the harm and any institution whose failures may have allowed it to occur.
If James Todd treated you, taught you, supervised you, or interacted with you during a medical encounter—and you have concerns about his conduct—you may contact law enforcement or speak confidentially with an attorney about your legal rights.
Contact Andreozzi + Foote at (866) 858-3790 or info@vca.law for a confidential consultation.
James Todd is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The allegations discussed in this article are based on publicly reported criminal charges and law-enforcement statements.
Photos courtesy Rolla Police Department and (KY3)
