Chloroform fetishist anesthetist assaulted nanny who caught him in the act, prosecutor says

According to the Putnam County District AttorneyPaul Giacopelli completed his guilty plea last week to charges of first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree assault.

Although he won’t be formally sentenced until November, according to the plea agreement, he will likely be sentenced to four years in state prison and will have to register as a sex offender.

Giacopelli was chief anesthesiologist at Putnam County Hospital at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said.

On December 29, 2023, The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department has learned a female victim “was given anesthesia without her knowledge and was then sexually assaulted.” Giacopelli was questioned and arrested the next day and reportedly confessed to the crimes.

Following his plea, Giacopelli’s attorney, Steven Gaitman, apparently said his client “has taken responsibility for his crimes and is now focusing on his family.”

According to court documents, via The News Journal, The nanny suspected she had been assaulted while she slept and installed a hidden camera behind a humidifier in the living room where she sometimes slept during nighttime visits. She then turned over the videos, which showed the alleged assaults, to law enforcement.

Giacopelli was accused of repeatedly abusing the unnamed victim. Sheriff’s investigator Keith Simone testified that the suspect admitted to fondling the nanny after putting a cloth soaked in the anesthetic Sevuflorane over her mouth and nose until she lost consciousness.

The investigator also testified that Giacopelli told him he had a “chloroform fetish” and believed the nanny was the “easiest target” because she was a “heavy sleeper.”

Giacopelli allegedly admitted to bringing drugs home from the hospital; fentanyl was also found in the house.

In a statement, the prosecutor congratulated the victim, saying that her “cooperation with the investigation and prosecution, as well as her courage and willingness to testify, resulted in the defendant’s guilty plea.”

District Attorney Robert V. Tendy added in a statement: “I am very proud of the work of the Sheriff’s Department and ADA Lynch; but I am most proud of the courage of the victim who went through this process that led to the arrest and conviction of the defendant.”

Giacopelli’s sentencing is scheduled for November 20, 2024; he is apparently was banned from practicing medicine.

The National Sexual Assault Hotline – 800.656.HOPE (4673) – provides free, 24/7 support to those in need.