Utah nurse, 53, is sentenced to 5 years in prison after infecting SEVEN patients with hepatitis C and exposing 7,200 more by using dirty needles to inject herself with painkillers
- Elet Neilson, 53, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday, officials said
- Total seven people were infected with hepatitis C and 7,200 more were exposed
- She previously pleaded guilty in federal court to tampering with a consumer product and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance
- Neilson admitted to injecting herself with painkillers meant for patients while she worked as an emergency room nurse at the McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden
Former Utah nurse, Elet Neilson (pictured), who stole painkillers and infected several patients with hepatitis C in 2014 has been sentenced to five years in prison
A former Utah nurse who stole painkillers and infected several patients with hepatitis C in 2014 has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Elet Neilson, 53, was sentenced Monday after previously pleading guilty in federal court to tampering with a consumer product and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
She acknowledged injecting herself with painkillers meant for patients while she worked as an emergency room nurse at the McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.
Her attorney said the syringes she used somehow became mixed up in the chaos of the emergency room.
Seven people contracted the hepatitis C Neilson carries, though state officials said she exposed as many as 7,200 patients to the infection.
Neilson tearfully told the judge she was ‘repulsed’ by her behavior and never thought her actions would affect so many people.
She said she turned to drug use in 2014 as a way to cope with a divorce and long overnight shifts.
The woman also said she was under a lot of stress while caring for her young son, who is autistic.
Neilson, who has the genotype 2b strain, also said she didn’t know she had hepatitis C until the health department called her in 2015.
According to Fox 13, Judge Dee Benson ordered Neilson to report to a facility in Bryan, Texas by March 2.
Neilson acknowledged injecting herself with painkillers meant for patients while she worked as an emergency room nurse at the McKay-Dee Hospital (pictured) in Ogden