A Dauphin County jury deliberated less than an hour before convicting Christian Bonnette, age 37, of attempted rape and three counts of aggravated assault. The defendant was a patient at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center on August 20, 2018, when he attacked two nurses and a patient care assistant who were caring for him. The defendant was awaiting surgery for a broken jaw sustained during a fight. At approximately 1:00 a.m., Bonnette beckoned one of the nurses to his room. He grabbed her and forced her into his room, shutting the door behind him. Another nurse and the nurse’s aid ran to the room to help her. After a struggle to get in the room, they found the defendant strangling the nurse. All three victims described a violent assault during which Bonnette strangled each woman and punched them in their faces.

During the ensuing struggle, the defendant turned his attention to one of the women and took her scrub pants down. He then attempted to rape her. The attack continued until a male nurse entered the room and pulled Bonnette off the woman he was attempting to rape. During trial testimony, the defendant claimed that he was having a dream when he awoke to two nurses pulling at him. He claimed that he then went into a blackout and could not remember the rest of the incident.  Defense counsel argued that the defendant did not have the specific intent to commit the crimes and that they were “involuntary” on his part. 

During closing argument, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle responded to the defense. “In order to buy into the defense argument, you have to believe that every single [Commonwealth] witness lied.  The actions of the defendant were not the actions of someone in a mental health crisis. This defendant was deliberate in his violent and vicious attack on these women. Today is about accountability for his actions.”  Senior Judge Richard A. Lewis set sentencing for May 3, 2022, and ordered that the defendant undergo an evaluation by the Sexual Offender’s Assessment Board.  The court increased the defendant’s bail to $250,000 after being advised of his significant criminal history for burglary, assaultive behavior, and drug offenses.

Officer Kevin Leiss of the Derry Township Police Department was the arresting officer.