Helena children’s hospital sued over alleged sex assault

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The guardian of a teenage girl who allegedly had a sexual relationship with one of her caregivers during her stay at a children’s psychiatric hospital here has filed a lawsuit against the hospital.

The lawsuit filed in District Court on Friday asserts that administrators at Shodair Children’s Hospital were negligent in their hiring and retention of Harry F. Miller, and in allowing him to have contact with the girl.

In March 2004, Miller, 38, pleaded guilty in Lake County to one count of rape and one count of unlawful transactions with a minor for providing the girl with alcohol and having sex with her in a Polson motel room in January 2003, after she was released from Shodair. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence.

The civil lawsuit alleges that Miller “had a known and documented history of inappropriate behavior with female patients at Shodair,” and had been reprimanded in 1994, but was allowed to continue to work at the hospital as a mental health technician.

In addition, court documents allege that many of the employees at the facility knew about Miller’s relationship with the patient, but allowed it to continue.

“Jane Doe’s healthcare providers at Shodair owed her a duty of great care and close supervision because of her history and her obvious extreme vulnerability,” the lawsuit reads. “This standard of care prohibited male employees from having romantic relationships with vulnerable, minor female patients.”

Jack Casey, administrator at Shodair, declined to comment on the advice of the hospital’s attorney.

After the Lake County conviction, Lewis and Clark County dismissed similar charges against Miller, for alleged illegal contact with the girl while she was at Shodair in late 2002 and early 2002.

Shodair provides services including inpatient care for children and adolescents experiencing severe emotional difficulties. The girl, who was 15 when she arrived at Shodair, received treatment in a locked unit at the hospital from October 2002 until January 2003.

The girl told authorities that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Miller, who was assigned to her case soon after she arrived at Shodair.

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