The worker, John Washington, disclosed on his application that he was an ex-con but didn't say he had committed a sex crime - and the state hospital never checked.
Washington worked there as a therapy aide trainee for nearly three years - until he was accused of sexually abusing a 22-year-old male patient in the middle of the night in March 2008, according to court papers.
The young man, whose name is being withheld by The News, told his mother what happened.
A probe by the NYPD and Bronx prosecutors ended with no charges filed.
"It was not a prosecutable case," said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx district attorney, declining to elaborate.
The patient has filed a lawsuit against the state with the Court of Claims.
His lawyer, Andrea Freund, said it is "outrageous" Washington was allowed to work with such a vulnerable population.
"These young people are there because they have problems and they're victimized again when they're left in the care of individuals like [Washington]," Freund said.
Washington, 47, resigned from the hospital in May 2008. He refused to comment outside his Bronx apartment last night.
A spokeswoman for the state Office of Mental Health said when Washington applied for the job, he checked the box on his application indicating he had been convicted of a crime.
"He was asked for more information and he did not describe an assault of any nature," spokeswoman Jill Daniels said.
Asked if anyone checked further, Daniels said: "Verification is not a requirement."
Washington is a Level 1 sex offender with a conviction for lewd assault and sexual battery against an underage male in Palm Beach in 2000, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.
Last week The News reported a teenage patient at the Bronx Psychiatric Children's Center is alleging he was raped by an unidentified hospital employee last summer.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/02/05/2010-02-05_bronx_hosp_didnt_check_but_worker_in_rap_was_sex_con.html#ixzz0ebBjjIig
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