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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Paramedic allegedly raped woman in back of ambulance on Christmas Day

Mark Powell was arrested on charges he sexually assaulted a woman in the back of an ambulance

A trip to the hospital turned into a nightmare for a Connecticut woman who was allegedly raped by a paramedic in the back of an ambulance.

Mark Powell, 49, turned himself in this week and was charged with sexual assault and unlawful restraint, police said Friday.

He worked for American Medical Response as a part-time paramedic since 2006, and full-time since September, according to the New Haven Register.

The 22-year-old woman, who has not been identified, was strapped to a stretcher after suffering a head injury at a party on Christmas Day in Hamden. She woke up in the ambulance to find herself being sexually assaulted, police said.

"Our society places the greatest level of trust and confidence in its public safety providers, and the circumstances in this case reflect a tremendous breach of that faith," Hamden Police Chief Thomas J. Wydra told the Associated Press.

A driver was also in the ambulance at the time of the alleged assault, cops said. In a statement, American Medical Response said Powell has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.

Powell has also served as a volunteer firefighter in the area since 1982, according to the New Haven Register.

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