Healthcare Assistant Claims Accuser Was Emotional Due to Pain; Denies Sexual Assault Charges

Ieuan Crump, a 26-year-old healthcare assistant from Gilfach, Caerphilly county, who faces accusations of sexually assaulting two female patients, stated that one of the alleged victims was “in tears and emotional” at the time, attributing her distress to pain from a bowel condition. Mr. Crump is charged with nine counts of sexual assault, which include three allegations of sexual assault by penetration. These alleged incidents took place at Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, in August 2021. Mr. Crump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. One woman, who had been admitted for a bowel condition in August 2021, subsequently informed police that Mr. Crump had touched her intimately, asserting that he presented this as part of a bladder scan procedure. She further alleged that he performed a pregnancy test by touching her breasts and vagina. During the proceedings, defence barrister Andrew Davies questioned Mr. Crump on “what use” such actions would serve in determining pregnancy. Mr. Crump responded, “It would be no use.” He reiterated that the woman was “in tears and emotional” on the ward due to severe pain. Additionally, Mr. Crump stated he did not recall receiving instructions against conducting a bladder scan by himself, and acknowledged that “in an ideal world” the hospital would endeavor to provide a chaperone, but that this was not the situation at the time. In the same ward and during the same week, another woman, who was recuperating from an appendectomy, later accused Mr. Crump of sexual assault through the performance of unwarranted internal examinations. This patient reported difficulty in passing urine, and Mr. Crump stayed in the room while a senior nurse attempted to insert a catheter. Mr. Crump informed the court that he had not inquired of the patient, whose identity is legally protected, whether she wished for him to be present during the procedure, but rather that she had requested his presence. He denied asking either the patient or the senior nurse for permission to remain and observe. Mr. Crump testified that he was positioned facing the patient, who was lying in what he described as the “birthing position,” while a senior nurse carried out the procedure. When questioned about whether he touched the patient intimately or instructed her that she required intimate touching, Mr. Crump stated he had not. He denied having touched either woman inappropriately at any point. Mr. Crump became visibly emotional, stating that his university has withheld his adult nursing degree, and as a result of the allegations, he is currently unable to work as a healthcare assistant or volunteer with St John’s Ambulance. He is presently employed in a factory. He informed the court, “I had ambitions to be a doctor, but I didn’t get the grades.” The court was informed that he had been employed as a healthcare support worker during his degree studies, initially at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and subsequently at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran. He explained that he was part of the hospital’s bank system, taking on shifts that required staffing, and that he worked in a stroke unit during the initial phase of the Covid pandemic. When questioned by Mr. Davies regarding the extent of his autonomy in his capacity as a healthcare assistant, he responded, “very limited… you supported the nurse.” The trial remains ongoing.