The state Department of Health has suspended the nursing license of Longview resident Ivan Pedersen, who was accused of sexually assaulting another nurse in Vancouver in December 2012 while she was unconscious from a drug overdose.
The woman then died of the overdose.
The criminal charge of second-degree rape against Pedersen was dismissed April 18 by Clark County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Camara Banfield because more investigation was needed to prosecute the case.
The health department and Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission suspended Pedersen’s license based on those allegations. Pedersen has 20 days to request a hearing to contest the suspension.
Vancouver police were called at 9:49 a.m. Dec. 27 to a residence in the 1500 block of Southeast Cutter Lane just south of Pearson Field to investigate the death of the 29-year-old woman.
A police detective found an intoxicated Pedersen sitting in his underwear on a couch on the second floor of the woman’s home, according to court documents.
The documents indicate Pedersen told police that he had consumed alcohol and cocaine with the victim at her residence. After she passed out or fell asleep on her bed, he allegedly raped her, the documents state. She didn’t wake up during the alleged rape, but Pedersen claimed she physically responded, according to the documents.
Under state law, sex with an unconscious person is considered rape because he or she is unable to give consent. The alleged crime may have happened either late Dec. 26 or early Dec. 27, according to court documents.
The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the woman died accidentally from cocaine and alcohol intoxication. Her blood alcohol level was about 0.10 percent, according to court documents.
At the time, Pedersen was a registered nurse at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview.
