Former Boston nurse accused of assaulting young patients now facing third sexual assault charge

BOSTON — A former Boston nurse who was indicted on charges for touching young patients is now facing charges in a third sexual assault case.

33-year-old John Tam was indicted on charges involving two young patients at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Court paperwork out of Marlborough District Court details a third alleged sexual assault case filed by a patient.

This assault, according to the police report, took place in October of 2023 at UMass Marlborough.

UMass Marlborough is listed amongst the hospitals the Suffolk County District Attorney Office says Tam has worked at over the years.

The victim told police that he was in the hospital struggling to breathe with pneumonia when 33-year-old Tam entered his hospital room.

The victim said Tam explained he’d be checking his vitals but also told the victim he needed to check his genitals, too.

The victim then told police the encounter escalated, and the sexual assault lasted several minutes.

The victim also states he told Tam to stop, to which Tam allegedly responded and said the victim should “relax.”

The report states the victim immediately reported the assault to the nursing staff and demanded police be called.

A spokesperson for the hospital declined to comment due to pending litigation.

During Tam’s arraignment on Monday for the cases out of Boston Children’s, prosecutors said one of the boys woke up to Tam touching his genitals and Tam took the other into a bathroom stall and allegedly sexually assaulted him there.

Tam’s legal team, Cataldo Law Offices, says Tam asserts his innocence and sent the following statement to Boston 25 News.

“The complaining witness is a teenager who had surgery on his penis. The fact that a nurse examines that private area immediately after surgery is both necessary and within the scope of proper medical practices,” Joseph P. Cataldo, wrote.

“As for the second indictment, I understand the Hospital investigated the matter and closed it back years ago after speaking with that complaining witness and family and did not find Nurse Tam did anything inappropriate,” Cataldo added.

The statement went on to explain that a Spring trial ended with a hung jury.

However, the statement did not address the case out of Marlborough, which resumes on Wednesday with a discovery hearing.

This as the Suffolk County District Attorney, Kevin Hayden, expresses concern there may be more victims.

“John Tam may have very well had contact of a sexual nature with other survivors. These sorts of allegations are always hidden; they are insidious; they often don’t come to surface for a period of time. Parents or anyone with concern that they or another child may have been assaulted at the hands of john tam should if they choose, to contact local law enforcement,” Hayden said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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