Man arrested, accused of attempting to rape nurses at Mount Nittany Medical Center
A State College man was arrested Friday after borough police said he grabbed a Mount Nittany Medical Center nurse by the hair and attempted to rape her and a fellow nurse before injuring another hospital worker who intervened.
Conner C. Patterson, 26, was charged with felony counts attempted rape and assault, as well as misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and disorderly conduct. He’s also facing three citations for harassment.
A staff member and fellow nurse told police Patterson exited his room about 20 minutes after making a lewd statement and grabbed a nurse who was sitting at the nurses’ station outside his room.
He pulled her into his room by her hair and attempted to disrobe and push her onto his bed, a State College police officer wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. He then pushed and disrobed a second nurse who intervened after hearing her coworker call for help and scream “get off of me,” police wrote.
Patterson continued fighting with both nurses until he was restrained by hospital security and an administrator. The nurses reported head and lower back pain, while the administrator reported neck and shoulder pain.
The charging document identified Patterson as a patient, but did not offer additional details. District Judge Casey McClain denied bail at a preliminary arraignment Friday, citing violent crimes against nursing staff. He is incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
Patterson’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The Centre County Public Defender Office declined comment Monday.
Adam Burget, a registered nurse at the hospital and president of the Mount Nittany chapter of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, said Sunday that the union did not immediately have detailed information about how the nurses were emotionally.
He also said the attack came at a time when violence and verbal outbursts against health care workers are increasing, both locally and nationally.
“Health care is becoming a dangerous place at times. What I mean by that is not to scare the readers, it’s not to scare the public — but people are becoming less abashed with their actions. Some of those are physical and some of those are verbal,” Burget said. “It’s well-known that people have less inhibitions about sharing their feelings or pursuing attacks against health care workers, especially since the early days of COVID.
“I’ve been in health care for about 12 years and it certainly has ramped up over the past four to five years.”
Mount Nittany Health said through a spokesperson that the health system is “committed to the safety of our staff, patients, and visitors.” They said they could not comment on individual patient matters, but alerted and cooperated with authorities.
The health system also said all its protocols were followed, but did not offer specific details citing patient privacy. It was unclear, for example, if the unit was properly staffed.
When asked what support, if any, was offered to nurses and their colleagues, the health system said it has made available “both physical and emotional resources.”
“We remain committed to the continued safety and well-being of our community,” the health system said.
Burget, the union chapter president, said a safety and security committee has previously been established and meets quarterly. The health system implemented a more strict check-in policy last month.
He said the committee will request to meet with the health system within 30 days to discuss Friday’s attack and “identify gaps and solutions to hopefully prevent this from happening again.”
What comes of that meeting remains to be seen. Historically, Burget said the hospital was mindful of security, but also with the “image and the openness of maintaining a community hospital.”
“Historically, we have been met with some resistance to our recommendations for security measures,” Burget said. “However, currently we are working together to shore up our security measures.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM.