PORT ST. LUCIE – A traveling MRI technician from Grant is facing a first-degree felony charge after a 64-year-old hospital patient told staff she was sexually assaulted inside an MRI suite while heavily medicated, according to a warrant affidavit filed in St. Lucie County Circuit Court.
Gabriel Cruz, 42, is charged with sexual battery on a physically helpless or incapacitated victim under Florida Statute 794.011(4)(b). The warrant lists his permanent address as 4750 S. U.S. Highway 1 in Grant. He was taken into custody in Brevard County on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 16.
What the affidavit says
Port St. Lucie Police Detective Sabrina Bermudez wrote that she was called to HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital on Sept. 14 to meet with a patient who reported being assaulted the previous day. The woman had been brought to the emergency room on Sept. 11 by her nephew after a series of fainting episodes at home and was admitted for further testing.
According to the affidavit, the patient weighs roughly 85 pounds and had been unable to complete a head MRI the day before because of anxiety. Nursing staff administered Ativan ahead of the Sunday scan. Her nurse told the detective she had intended to time the dose to the transport window, but the transporter arrived roughly 20 minutes later than expected, by which point the patient was too drowsy to be moved by wheelchair and had to be placed on a transport bed.
The patient described drifting in and out of consciousness, being placed in the machine, and later waking to find a man’s penis in her mouth. She told detectives she was unable to move or speak clearly and that the man spoke to her in Spanish. She stated he continued the sexual act until he “finished” and use a white washcloth to clean the inside and outside of her mouth. She reported being told that no one would find out because there were no cameras in the room. She said she initially believed it had been a dream, and waited until the medication wore off the following morning before reporting it to her nurse.
Video and physical evidence
The hospital’s director of patient safety told detectives there is no camera inside the MRI room or screening area, but there is one in the hallway outside. That footage, as described in the affidavit, shows the patient wheeled down at 4 p.m., taken into the MRI room at 4:24 p.m., and the door closing at 4:27 p.m. The door stayed closed until 5:22 p.m. She was transported back to her room at 5:27 p.m. At 5:29 p.m., Cruz is seen leaving the MRI room wearing gloves and carrying what appears to be a bedpan, crossing the hall into a restroom, spending about a minute inside, and returning empty-handed.
The affidavit notes a routine MRI typically runs 30 minutes to an hour and a half. The patient was inside the room for roughly 55 minutes.
Detectives collected three trash bags from the restroom and the MRI room, including a bedpan, paper towels, disinfectant wipes and a white cloth. A crime scene investigator processed the items the next day. Multiple items, including the bedpan, returned presumptive positive results for male semen, according to the affidavit.
Hired through a staffing agency in August
Hospital human resources told the detective that Cruz began working at the facility on Aug. 24, 2026, through American Traveler Staffing Professionals, a third-party travel agency that also conducted his background check. HR said no complaints or issues had been reported about him before this. He had been scheduled to return to work on Sept. 17, but the hospital told the agency he was not to come back.
HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital said in a statement to CBS12 that it contacted law enforcement and ended the assignment once the allegation was reported, and that it has assisted investigators throughout.
Detective Bermudez wrote that she reached Cruz by phone on Sept. 15. He told her he had retained attorney Jeff Gorman and directed all questions to his lawyer.
The charge
Sexual battery on a victim who is physically helpless to resist or physically incapacitated is a first-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Police have not said publicly whether Cruz is suspected in any other incidents at facilities where he worked as a traveling technician, and the investigation remains active.
An arrest is not a conviction. Cruz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The Space Coast Rocket does not identify victims of alleged sexual offenses.
Have information about this case? Contact The Space Coast Rocket at 407-810-3200 or editor@thespacecoastrocket.com.
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