A former registered nurse at EvergreenHealth Monroe is facing four felony counts of indecent liberties after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted multiple patients in his care, including one woman recovering from shoulder surgery who was unable to bear weight and says he touched her genitals without asking. Stephen Odingo, 61, of Marysville, is scheduled for arraignment at Snohomish County Superior Court on October 7, and is not currently in custody.
The case, first reported by The Seattle Times, lays out a pattern that allegedly began in July 2024, when a patient first reported Odingo's behavior to hospital staff. According to the newspaper's reporting, he continued practicing after that initial complaint, and two more patients came forward in January 2025 before the hospital suspended him and opened an internal investigation. Odingo was charged with four felony counts of indecent liberties, a crime defined under Washington state law as non-consensual sexual contact committed by a healthcare provider during treatment, examination, or consultation.
Patients Describe Repeated Unwanted Contact
Court documents described in the newspaper's account detail a troubling pattern: Odingo frequently entered one patient's hospital room and tried to hold and hug her multiple times, according to the report. He allegedly asked to perform a full body check on her, and when she refused to remove her bra, he reportedly attempted to remove it himself. Hospital staff had told Odingo that another person should be present for sensitive care involving female patients, per the same account.
Other allegations are similarly disturbing. The Seattle Times reports Odingo told one patient, “maybe you can take care of me sometime,” and kissed her on the lips while wearing a mask. Another patient reportedly told him no when he tried to hug and kiss her, and the article notes he asked her to remove all her clothes on several occasions when it was not necessary for her care. One patient said she feared Odingo might rape her and reported his conduct to her fiancée, per the same reporting.
Hospital Suspended, Then Odingo Resigned
EvergreenHealth removed Odingo from a patient's care and later suspended him entirely as the internal investigation proceeded, according to the Seattle Times report. He ultimately submitted a letter of resignation, and the hospital confirmed he is no longer employed there. In a statement, EvergreenHealth said patient safety and community trust are of the utmost importance, though it declined to comment further, citing the ongoing legal matter.
The most serious reported incident came on January 22, 2025, when EvergreenHealth's chief nursing officer called 911 to report that Odingo had sexually assaulted a patient who was non-weight bearing due to recent shoulder surgery, and that he had cleaned and touched her genital area without asking, the newspaper reported. Washington law defines sexual contact in these cases as any intentional touching of a person's intimate parts for the purpose of sexual gratification, under state statute.
More Than a Year Passed Before Charges Were Filed
Monroe Police Detective Amy Troxell was assigned to the case in October 2025, when officers contacted Odingo at his Marysville home; he requested an attorney and declined to provide a recorded statement, per the Seattle Times account. Charges were not filed until September 2026, more than a year after the chief nursing officer's 911 call, and the Monroe Police Department could not explain the delay to the newspaper. Odingo's registered nurse license reportedly remained listed as active on state lookup databases even as the criminal case moved forward, though his licensed practical nurse and nursing assistant licenses had expired.
That gap highlights how criminal prosecution and professional licensing operate on separate tracks in Washington. The Washington State Board of Nursing holds authority under state regulations to summarily suspend a nurse's license before a hearing if an investigation shows probable cause of imminent risk to public safety, a power that is independent of any criminal case moving through Snohomish County courts. Separately, hospitals are required under state law to report any suspension or termination of a practitioner's clinical privileges for misconduct to state licensing authorities within 30 days.
What Comes Next in Court
At arraignment, Odingo will formally hear the charges against him, enter a plea, and have any bail or release conditions reviewed by the court. If convicted on the Class B felony counts, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine per count under Washington sentencing law. All allegations against Odingo remain unproven criminal claims, and he is presumed innocent as the case heads to Snohomish County Superior Court next week.
The case unfolds as EvergreenHealth Monroe, a 72-bed hospital under Snohomish County Public Hospital District No. 1 and the primary full-service hospital between Everett and Wenatchee, faces its own institutional moment: voters will decide in November on Proposition 1, a $382 million bond measure to replace the aging facility amid a reported 50 percent rise in patient volume over three years.
