A mental health nurse extradited from Barbados to the UK has denied charges of having sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with a patient while she was receiving treatment for a mental disorder. Jason Forde, 56, pleaded not guilty to eight counts during a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday.
Forde faces allegations of unlawful sexual activity with the woman at Homerton Hospital in Hackney, east London, during the 2000s. The unit was part of the East London and City Mental Health Trust, which is now the East London NHS Foundation Trust. He was extradited to the UK earlier this summer and arrived at Heathrow Airport.
The charges include one count of having sexual intercourse with a woman described as a 'mental defective' under the Sexual Offences Act 1956, and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a patient under the Mental Health Act 1959. Forde also denied three counts of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice and three counts of being a care worker engaged in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder, both under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Her Honour Emma Deacon KC set a trial date for April 26, 2027, with an estimated duration of four days. Forde was remanded into custody.