Charges filed in sexual assault at Chambersburg Hospital [Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa.]

Dec. 29--CHAMBERSBURG -- A Fayetteville man was jailed Tuesday for the alleged sexual assault of a fellow patient on the third floor of Chambersburg Hospital.

Barry Evan Spoonhour, 46, of 1061 Mount Cydonia Road, is charged with indecent assault, indecent exposure and open lewdness in connection with the incident Friday. He was arraigned Tuesday and remains in Franklin County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday in Franklin County Central Court.

Officer Matthew Bietsch was called to the hospital for the reported incident about 1:50 a.m., according to an affidavit filed with Magisterial District Judge Gary Carter. Hospital risk management officer Jennifer Lindsay told him that Spoonhour assaulted a male patient in the secure section of the third floor.

The hospital's third floor includes a behavioral health unit, as well as a medical/surgical unit and a dialysis unit.

Bietsch spoke to an attending doctor on the third floor, who shared his opinion that the alleged victim was mentally capable of understanding what had happened to him. He said video surveillance footage confirmed that the incident was not a delusion.

The patient told police that he and Spoonhour were talking in the cafeteria when Spoonhour suggested that they go to the TV room together, according to the affidavit. When they got there, Spoonhour allegedly turned the light off and committed several sexual acts.

After the incident ended,

Spoonhour left the room and went to bed, the affidavit states. The other man went and reported what had happened to hospital staff.

Asked if we wanted Spoonhour to do any of those things, the alleged victim told police, "oh my, no." He said he didn't leave or try to stop it from happening because he feared Spoonhour would hurt him if he did so.

He also told the officer that "Barry was a good man and had done something bad," the affidavit states. He said God had forgiven Spoonhour, so criminal charges would not be necessary. The doctor told Bietsch that the man was not capable of making educated decision about whether charges were appropriate.

Spoonhour was recently identified as the victim in a reported mugging in the 100 block of South Main Street, Chambersburg. According to a previous police statement, he was injured while fending off a robber early Dec. 19.

Police said he was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries to both of his hands.

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Jim Tuttle can be reached at [email protected] or at 262-4754.

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