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Police: Mental Health Worker Sexually Abused 3 Patients

Logo for the Pinellas Park Police Department
Pinellas Park Police Department
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

A Florida mental health care worker is facing charges that he sexually battered three patients. 

Nicholai Brief was ordered held on $140,000 bail Sunday, three days after his arrest sexual battery and molestation charges.

According to Pinellas Park police, Brief worked as a caretaker at a Tampa Bay-area facility where people suffering from a mental health crisis are treated.

Investigators say they were told Thursday that in October a patient accused the 34-year-old suspect groped her. He denied it, but admitted asking her to expose herself.

Another patient said in January Brief forced her into a closet and sexually assaulted her.

In February, a third woman said Brief groped her while she slept. She says when she awoke, he told her not to tell.

Court records do not show if Brief has an attorney.