Life sentence given in hospital assaults

Kim Smith

Friday, Jan. 5, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

A mentally ill man who attacked two elderly women at Summerlin Medical Center in May 1999 was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.

Roy O'Guinn will have to serve at least 10 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Because the 39-year-old pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the case, he is guaranteed mental health treatment while incarcerated.

According to police, O'Guinn fondled a 59-year-old patient in her room at the hospital before sexually assaulting a 69-year-old patient in another room moments later.

O'Guinn, who has a history of mental illness, was convicted of sex offenses in California in 1980 and in Nevada in 1989.

O'Guinn still faces two civil trials in connection with the incidents. Both patients filed lawsuits against O'Guinn and the hospital, claiming the hospital's negligence led to the assaults.

O'Guinn's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Joseph Abood, said his client went to the hospital in search of medication after having been refused mental health treatment at another facility in Las Vegas.

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