BOSTON – A 15-year-old boy was recovering from chest surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital in September 2022 when he regained partial consciousness and realized a nurse was touching his genitals. That teenager is now listed as the first known victim in a grand jury indictment charging former registered nurse John Tam with eight felony counts of sexual assault against pediatric patients.
Tam, 33, of Hopedale, Massachusetts, was indicted in July 2026 on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older, and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a patient by a healthcare provider. CBS Boston and NBC Boston first reported the indictment on Thursday. He is scheduled to be arraigned at Suffolk Superior Court on July 27.
The second alleged incident occurred on January 2, 2025, more than two years after the first. After a minor male patient underwent surgery, Tam allegedly wheeled the sedated boy to a single-stall bathroom. Surveillance footage showed the two inside together for approximately nine minutes. Prosecutors say Tam fondled the child’s genitals during that time and offered to show him pornographic material on his phone.
The patient’s mother grew alarmed when she questioned Tam after the procedure and he told her to get her car and drive to the hospital entrance, according to court documents. The family immediately alerted hospital security, who reviewed surveillance footage the same day. The footage corroborated the family’s account.
“We are concerned that these may not be isolated incidents,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, announcing the indictment on Thursday. “We want to assure parents that any information they provide will be thoroughly and sensitively investigated.” Hayden’s office has asked anyone who received nursing care from Tam at any of the three hospitals where he worked to contact the district attorney’s office.
Boston Children’s Hospital said it is cooperating fully with the investigation. “At Boston Children’s Hospital, our patients’ and their families’ safety and well-being are our utmost priority,” the hospital said in a statement. The hospital did not specify when Tam’s employment ended or under what circumstances he departed.
Before working at Boston Children’s, Tam held nursing positions at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and at UMass Memorial Medical Center’s campuses in Worcester and Marlborough. Prosecutors did not indicate whether patients at those institutions have raised concerns about Tam or whether those facilities are under review. The district attorney’s office did not respond to follow-up questions about the scope of the investigation beyond those two victims.
The nearly four-year gap between the first alleged assault in September 2022 and the July 2026 indictment raises questions about the pace of the case. Disclosure in sexual abuse cases involving sedated or anesthetized minors is frequently delayed. Patients who are disoriented in recovery may not immediately recognize what occurred, and younger victims often face significant barriers in describing or reporting assault.
Massachusetts law specifically criminalizes assault on patients by healthcare providers, a statute that recognizes the particular vulnerability of people who are sedated or otherwise unable to protect themselves. That provision accounts for four of the eight counts Tam now faces, and carries statutory penalties beyond those applicable to general assault charges. Patient safety advocates have cited the statute as a model for other states where similar crimes are prosecuted only under general assault law.
The case has also revived debate over hospital credentialing practices. Under existing Massachusetts regulations, hospitals are not always required to report a nurse’s departure to state licensing authorities unless formal disciplinary proceedings were completed before the employee left. That gap has allowed some practitioners to move between employers without new institutions being made aware of underlying concerns, a problem advocates have sought to address through mandatory disclosure requirements.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. It was unclear whether Tam’s nursing license remains active or has been suspended pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.
Sexual assault by healthcare workers against sedated patients is a documented but underreported problem across the United States. Victims who are unconscious or semi-conscious during an alleged assault frequently cannot identify their attacker without corroborating physical evidence or surveillance footage, making thorough hospital monitoring systems a critical factor in prosecutions of this kind.
District Attorney Hayden’s warning that the two known victims may not be the last follows a pattern common in institutional abuse cases, where public indictments often prompt additional victims to come forward. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said detectives are prepared to receive and investigate further reports. The arraignment at Suffolk Superior Court is scheduled for Monday, July 27.
