A Marietta nurse anesthetist has been arrested for the second time in two weeks. The first arrest was for eavesdropping and unlawful surveillance. This second arrest, which took place on Monday, November 22, added child molestation and sodomy to his list of crimes when a juvenile appeared among his alleged victims.
Paul Patrick Serdula, age forty-seven, is the nurse in question, and the investigation into his alleged crimes is still on-going. Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce has said that at the moment, the number of victims is in the low double digits, but “we expect as many as 100.”
Detectives have talked to a number of victims, and people who believe they may have been victims, he said.
With these new charges, Pierce said that Serdula will most likely be kept in jail without bond. The new charges filed against Serdula include aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery alleged to have occurred July 29, and a charge of aggravated sodomy alleged to have occurred September 16.
The initial charges were only three instances of unlawful surveillance in a dental office where Serdula was employed.
However Serdula, as a contracted nurse anesthetist, did not work only in one dentist or medical office. He may have worked for a number of separate medical establishments. Police are still trying to identify where he may have worked.
Police are also trying to identify locations and victims found on video recordings found during a search of Serdula’s home. The search uncovered electronic recording devices and untold hours of video.
“We are looking at tapes not only from the incident that occurred at the dental office, but also other incidents that are recorded that we are trying to find the location of that criminal activity as well as identify the victims,” Sgt. Pierce said.
The original investigation opened when a woman spotted a suspicious recording device in the bathroom at her dentist’s office. The woman immediately called 911.
Paul Patrick Serdula received his Georgia nursing license December 16, 1997, and has been practicing since then. Prior to that, he held a nursing license in the state of Florida.
Anyone who suspects they may have been a victim of Serdula is advised to first contact their physician or dentist rather than the police and ask as to whether or not Serdula was their anesthetist. If in fact he was, then they should contact the police to further the investigation.
This incident drives home very clearly the vulnerable position we all put ourselves in, not only with doctors, but with other medical professionals as well. We must trust them for the benefit of our own health and well being, and most times their intentions are good, however when a predator finds access into the medical establishment, his access to victims might be frighteningly easy.
To imagine that such a person might feasibly be able to victimize a hundred or more patients, minors among them, is nothing less than horrifying.