THEY thought he was a doctor, a nurse or an orderly coming to see if they were all right.
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But the man wearing surgical scrubs who loomed over the beds of two elderly female patients in Wagga's Calvary Hospital was actually their worst nightmare - a sexual predator.
The man, 47-year-old Antony Paul Hanney, was on Monday jailed until October 1, 2016, after previously pleading guilty to sexual intercourse with a 77-year-old woman without her consent and the indecent assault of an 86-year-old woman.
Hanney, a former cleaner at the hospital, attacked the women between 9pm and 9.30pm on September 30, 2012.
He was arrested the next day and has been in custody ever since.
In his sentencing remarks in Sydney District Court, Judge Phillip Mahony said: "The offender's conduct could be described as somewhat bizarre, but was otherwise predatory in the sense that it targeted vulnerable and elderly patients".
The judge also rejected Hanney's submission there was little planning involved "having regard to the means by which the offender gained access to the hospital and his subsequent subterfuge in using his knowledge of the hospital to access and put on surgical scrubs so as to masquerade as a member of staff".
Judge Mahony said the doors of Calvary Hospital were locked at 8pm each night and access could only be gained by a remote monitor within the hospital.
"She initially thought the offender was either an orderly or a doctor because of the surgical scrubs he was wearing"
- Judge Phillip Mahony
On the night of Hanney's attacks, another man sought access to the hospital and staff inside opened the doors for him about 9pm.
As the man entered the hospital, closed circuit television (CCTV) footage from a camera at the front door showed Hanney sneaking into the hospital behind him.
A short time later, Hanney was captured on CCTV cameras in the theatre area of the hospital.
"He was shown walking along the corridor wearing theatre 'scrubs', including a bandana on his head," Judge Mahony said.
Hanney called into the room of a 77-year-old woman who had undergone surgery that day.
"She initially thought the offender was either an orderly or a doctor because of the surgical scrubs he was wearing," Judge Mahony said.
He indecently assaulted the woman, stopping only after she asked him three times what he was doing, and then moved to another part of the hospital where an 86-year-old was on the verge of falling asleep.
"She believed the offender was a nurse," Judge Mahony said.
After asking the woman if she was all right, Hanney sexually abused the woman.
She became alarmed and swung her arm at him, after which he left the room.
Both women alerted hospital staff.
CCTV footage showed Hanney returning to the theatre change room and shortly afterwards walking past the nurses station where he spoke with staff, telling a nurse he had worked at the hospital four years ago.
He then left the hospital via the emergency stairwell.
Hanney, who had no record for sexual offences before these attacks, told police that he was "pretty drunk" on the day and had no recollection of his crimes, but admitted he was the culprit.
Hanney was given a fixed term 18-month jail sentence starting from October 2, 2012, for the indecent assault.
He was jailed for five and a half years, with a non-parole period of three and a half years, starting from April 2, 2013, for sexual intercourse without consent.
Judge Mahony said the indecent assault was below mid-range of objective seriousness for an offence that has a maximum penalty of five years, with no statutory non-parole period.
He said the sexual intercourse without consent was within mid-range of objective seriousness for a crime that has a maximum penalty of 14 years with a standard non-parole period of seven years.
The judge said he accepted that an aggravating factor was that each victim was vulnerable, being elderly women who were patients in a secure hospital.
Hanney was given a 25 per cent sentence discount for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, with the judge accepting that Hanney was remorseful.