Bridgeport Hospital official charged with sexually assaulting patients

Bridgeport Hospital, in Bridgeport, Conn. Dec. 16, 2015. Bridgeport Hospital, in Bridgeport, Conn. Dec. 16, 2015. Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Bridgeport Hospital official charged with sexually assaulting patients 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — The emergency manager and EMS coordinator at Bridgeport Hospital was arrested Friday after being accused of sexually assaulting four male patients and secretly photographing at least a dozen others while performing unauthorized medical examinations at the hospital’s nursing school.

Barry Barkinsky, 62, of Franklin Street, Stamford, who had been teaching at the nursing school, was charged with four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and 10 counts of voyeurism.

He was released after posting $100,000 bond.

Police said when they confronted Barkinsky, he admitted the allegations and turned over 2,181 photographs he had secretly taken of at least a dozen men while they were naked on a table and he was performing a medical procedure on them.

“In January, Bridgeport Hospital was informed of a police investigation involving one of its employees,” hospital spokeswoman Dana Marnane said. “The employee, who did not work in any patient-care areas, is no longer with the hospital. The hospital had no knowledge of any of the activities alleged in the arrest warrant and, such alleged activity, if proven to be true, is an absolutely inexcusable violation of trust and inconsistent with the values of our organization. The hospital has been and will continue to cooperate fully with the police in this matter.”

On Dec. 8, police said, they were contacted by a 22-year-old Bridgeport man who told them he had been sexually assaulted and secretly photographed by Barkinsky.

Police said the alleged victim told them he had enrolled in the emergency medical technician course at the nursing school in 2013, where Barkinsky was one of the instructors. At some point, Barkinsky noticed the man was having back trouble and offered to give him weekly chiropractic treatments in an office in the nursing school, police said. During each treatment, Barkinsky would have the man lie naked on a table and Barkinsky would begin by examining the man’s genitals with his hands, police said.

The victim “thought Barkinsky had an unorthodox approach to medicine and didn’t question anything,” police said.

During one of the treatments, the victim told police, he heard a camera shutter sound and was concerned Barkinsky was photographing his naked backside.

On Nov. 24, 2015, police said, the victim looked behind him to say something and saw Barkinsky photographing him with his cellphone. Later, police said, the victim secretly photographed Barkinsky photographing him as he lay naked on the table. They said the victim turned the photo over to them.

Police said when Lt. Chris LaMaine confronted Barkinsky and asked him if he would make a statement, Barkinsky blurted, “I might as well, because you’re going to see the pictures anyways.”

Police said he then turned over the photographs of a dozen naked men all undergoing enema procedures, and admitted the procedures had not been consensual.

Police said they later contacted 10 of the men in the photographs and three others who complained they had been sexually assaulted by Barkinsky in a hospital office. All said they were unaware Barkinsky had been photographing them, police said.

In Barkinsky’s Stamford apartment, police said they found various paddles used as sexual fetishes, along with a large cache of medical supplies including enema equipment that was mounted on a pole in Barkinsky’s bedroom. There was also a lot of fetish-type literature including one titled, “The doctor will spank you now,” police said.