A New York state anesthesiologist has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually abusing his family’s nanny while she slept in his home, authorities said.
Paul Giacopelli, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Putnam County Judge Anthony Molé after being indicted by a grand jury in March, the county attorney’s office said in a news release.
Giacopelli’s attorney, Steven Gaitman, said his client “accepted responsibility for his crimes and is now focused on providing for his family.”
According to court documents, the victim worked caring for Giacopelli’s children at his home in the southeastern United States town of Putnam County. He also sometimes worked nights when Giacopelli was on duty at the local hospital.
She told investigators that in late 2023 she fell asleep four times, woke up to a cloth being held over her face, smelled chemicals and lost consciousness.
The woman set up a hidden camera to film her attacker on December 29, 2023. After feeling a cloth on her face and falling unconscious, she woke up and viewed the contents of the camera.
Putnam County District Attorney
Prosecutors say video footage shows Giacopelli attacking the victim.
The woman turned the video clips in to police and Giacopelli was taken in for questioning by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Keith Simone, an investigator with the sheriff’s office, told the grand jury that Giacopelli admitted to filling a cloth with sevoflurane, an anesthetic, and covering the woman’s mouth and nose to render her unconscious.
He admitted to sexually assaulting the woman after she was rendered unconscious and said he had a “chloroform fetish,” Simone testified.
Giacopelli told investigators the victim was an easy target because she was a “heavy sleeper,” Simone said.
Simone said Giacopelli admitted to taking drugs home from the hospital. Fentanyl and other drugs were found in the home, Simone testified.
“The victim’s cooperation with the investigation and prosecution, and her courage and willingness
“The defendant’s statement that he pleaded guilty resulted in his testimony,” the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The state’s Council for Professional Medical Conduct banned Giacopelli from practicing medicine after his arrest.
He will be sentenced to four years in prison with post-release supervision of up to ten years and he
must register as sex offenders, the district attorney said, praising Assistant District Attorney Melissa Lynch for prosecuting the case.
“I am very proud of the work of the Sheriff’s Department and ADA Lynch, but I am especially proud of the victim’s courage in going through this process that led to the arrest and conviction of the defendant,” District Attorney Robert Tendy said in a statement.
