Nicholai Brief, a 34 year old employee of a mental health facility, has been arrested in Pinellas County, Florida on charges he molested three adult female patients beginning in October 2018 and continuing through February 2019. These incidents are reported to have occurred while Nicholai Brief was working as a tech at Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services (PEMHS) in Pinellas Park. He began working for PEMHS in summer 2018.
According to law enforcement records, Brief grabbed the breasts of two women and the genitals of a third woman. In one case, he alleged to have pushed a female patient into a dark room and touched her genitals. "You're not going to tell anyone are you," Brief is alleged to have said to another patient, after he went into that patient's room while she was sleeping and groped her breasts. Brief also used Facebook Messenger to ask another victim for sexually explicit photos. He entered that victim's room and grabbed her breasts, according to the documents.
Brief faces one charge of felony sexual battery and multiple charges for lewd and lascivious molestation of an elderly or disabled person. Upon questioning by law enforcement, Brief denied sexual contact but admitted that he asked a patient to expose herself. Brief was in a position of trust and authority over all of his alleged victims. Each of the women lacked the lacked the ability to consent due to diminished mental capacity or failed to give consent according to law enforcement. PEMHS in a non-profit facility in the Tampa-area that treats people suffering from mental health issues.
This is not Nicholai Brief's first run-in with the law in Florida. He was "Baker Acted" in Pasco County in 20165 as a result of comments he made on Facebook threatening to harm himself and others. Court documents from the case note he suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his service in the United States Army. Brief was also arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct in 2015 in connection with his employment at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. Additionally, Brief was arrested in 2016 on a felony charge of domestic battery by strangulation and tampering with a witness. Both charges were later dropped.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted by a doctor or other healthcare employee at a doctor's office or healthcare facility, it is important to have experienced legal counsel. We are experienced in handling cases on behalf of victims involving sexual assault by doctors and other healthcare workers. If you have a been a victim of sexual assault by a doctor in a hospital or medical office, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at (954) 641-2100 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com