Maya Kowalski files complaint related to sex abuse allegations with St. Petersburg police
Maya Kowalski has filed a criminal complaint with the St. Petersburg Police Department alleging she was sexually abused while staying at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in October 2016 a day after a jury awarded her family more than $261 million in damages.
A St. Petersburg Police Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday through a statement that Maya Kowalski filed the complaint with the department on Friday, noting that it is an open case so there are no public records that could be shared.
Greg Anderson, the family's attorney, said the complaint was for criminal assault against an unknown perpetrator, as the identity of the individual is still unknown, for an encounter that Maya said happened while she was at All Children's Hospital in October 2016. Anderson previously foreshadowed that he would be filing a second complaint at the conclusion of the case related to the sexual abuse allegation made during the course of the trial and a criminal complaint would also be filed.
The Venice family was at the center of a highly publicized case after they sued the St. Petersburg-based hospital in 2018 more than a year after wife and mother, Beata Kowalski, took her life following allegations she was abusing her daughter.
The family took 10-year-old Maya Kowalski to All Children’s Hospital in October 2016 after she complained of severe stomach pain, believed by the family to be a relapse of her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a disorder that impairs the central nervous system and heightens pain sensations.
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Maya Kowalski was separated from her family, friends, and community following a Florida Department of Children and Families investigation and ordered by a judge to remain at the hospital. She remained separated for more than three months before reuniting with her father and brother shortly after her mother’s death.
Ethen Shapiro, an attorney for the hospital from Hill Ward Henderson, said in a statement that the hospital has taken the allegations very seriously and began an internal investigation immediately after they were brought up.
“These allegations originally arose during the trial and were not admitted into the case. As soon as the hospital became aware of the allegations, and in accordance with their policies, they immediately initiated an internal investigation and contacted law enforcement last month," Shapiro said. "Federal privacy laws restrict Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital from sharing more, but the hospital takes allegations of this nature very seriously and always puts the safety of their patients above all else.”
A couple of weeks into the two-month-long trial, Anderson informed the judge and the defense he had new information that Maya Kowalski had recently recalled about a situation between her and an unidentified man wearing a white lab coat which could be a possible sexual abuse encounter after she was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in October 2016.
Anderson said while looking to drop social worker Catherine Bedy from the lawsuit, he had asked Maya Kowalski to tell him about every encounter — big or small — that had happened while she was at the hospital. Anderson told the Court that Maya Kowalski had relayed to him there was a time when someone she perceived to be a doctor came into the room without a chaperone or assistant.
Anderson added Maya Kowalski described the man as being tall, and thin, with dirty blonde hair, round glasses, and wearing a white lab coat similar to those worn by doctors at the hospital before committing an act of sexual abuse.
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Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll denied Anderson's motion to amend his client's pleadings less than a week later and denied a mistrial motion that was brought. The trial continued for another six weeks, with a jury reaching a verdict on Nov. 9.
Shapiro expressed surprise when the allegations were brought up after a jury was already sworn in and had heard testimony from several witnesses.
“As Florida’s leading children’s hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s first priority is always the safety and compassionate care of their patients," Shapiro said. "We remain focused on demonstrating to the Court and jury the truth: that the staff of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital provided the highest standards of care and strictly followed all of the appropriate and legally required processes while Maya Kowalski was in their care.”
A statement attributed to the hospital noted the surprise at hearing such allegations and that an investigation was started in accordance with the hospital's policies, noting that "we take allegations of this nature very seriously and always put the safety of our patients above all else."
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: St. Petersburg police: Maya Kowalski files criminal assault complaint
