HELENA — A former nurse at St. Peter’s Health, Aaron Gams, accused of sexually abusing a patient under his care, was in court on Wednesday.
Gams was scheduled for a change of plea hearing on February 18, and while he did make an appearance, the change of plea was put on hold.
The issue, the law for the initial charge prosecutors submitted had not gone into effect until two months after the alleged crime had happened, which is why the amended charges were made.
Wednesday, Gams was arraigned before Judge McMahon on the charge of felony sexual assault, resulting in bodily injury. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf, which is common in state district court appearances of this nature.
According to court documents, a patient accused Gams of sexually abusing her while she was in the hospital’s intensive care unit in July 2023.
Documents also say the patient was disoriented and in and out of consciousness during her hospitalization, initially believing the incident with Gams was a hallucination. However, Gams is later accused of contacting the woman by text message, and in their conversation, confirmed something physical had happened between them.
For context, the law on abuse and sexual abuse that has impacted this case currently applies to all vulnerable adults. But before October 2023, the law only applied to “an older person or person with a developmental disability.”
Gams is now scheduled for a jury trial on September 14, 2026, but that could change, and we will continue to follow this case as it develops.
