April 10--NEW HAVEN -- Former paramedic Mark Powell has pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault upon an intoxicated woman in an ambulance on Christmas morning three years ago.
Under the plea arrangement, which Powell agreed to in order to avoid a trial and the possibility of greater prison time, he will receive a 10-year sentence, to be suspended after he serves 3 1/2 years.
After his release from prison, Powell will be on probation for 10 years. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
Powell, 51, of North Haven, is scheduled to be sentenced June 10 by Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford. He entered his plea under the Alford doctrine, meaning he did not admit guilt but conceded the state has enough evidence to likely get a conviction. It results in a guilty finding.
The events occurred in an American Medical Response ambulance after Powell and the ambulance driver, a female emergency medical technician, responded to a report of an unconscious woman at a holiday party in Hamden at about 3 a.m. Dec. 25, 2011. The woman, who was 22, became intoxicated, fell backward into a mirror while she was dancing and struck her head.
She was unconscious when she was placed in the ambulance, strapped to a stretcher. Three days later, she contacted police and reported she had been awakened during the ride to the hospital when she felt her breast being rubbed forcibly and her vagina touched. She said she was very weak but remembered yelling to the attendant: "Stop!"
The woman said she waited three days to call police because she was scared and didn't know what to do. After she told her mother about what had happened, her mother told her to report it, according to the Hamden police affidavit.
The plea arrangement specifies that the second, less serious count of fourth-degree sexual assault will not go forward. That charge alleged Powell touched the patient's breasts.
The remaining count charges Powell touched the woman's genitals. According to the police affidavit, Powell told police he touched her vagina in order to "apply pain stimuli to elicit a response from or wake the female." The affidavit also quotes him saying he pinched her left nipple for the same reason.
"Powell indicated that in the past he had seen nurses use pain stimuli to the nipple on patients in a hospital setting," the affidavit stated. "Powell indicated he knew it was not an appropriate technique."
"Powell expressed remorse for what he had done, that he made a mistake and a serious lapse in judgment," the affidavit added.
Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Doyle declined to comment on the case because the sentencing has not yet occurred.
Defense attorney Norm Pattis said, "We were prepared for a trial" but "the difficulty was his statement to police. Mr. Powell made an admission that sounded like a confession. His contention is that they (police) made promises to him. But if the jury didn't believe him, he could've gotten a far harsher penalty."
Pattis said of the plea arrangement, "This was a pragmatic way to handle the situation."
As to what Powell says occurred in the ambulance, Pattis said, "We'll save that for the sentencing day. He has his side of what happened."
"He's far from the sum of his worst moment," Pattis added. "He's a good man."
Pattis said Powell no longer works for the ambulance company.
On March 24, as he was preparing for the trial, Pattis filed a motion to suppress Powell's police statement. The motion alleged police used "coercive tactics" and deceived Powell by saying the woman had passed a polygraph test.
There was no ruling made on the motion because Powell decided not to go to trial.
In addition, Pattis said, "We consulted psychiatric experts and they could not give us what we needed to prevail on that motion."
"He's anxious to serve his time and get back with his family," Pattis added.
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