Man gets year in jail for sex assault of hospital worker

A homeless Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 12 months in jail after admitting to sexually assaulting a nurse in a hospital parkade.

Ermiyas Isaac Dangerfield, 28, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and one count of breaching his probation.

Dangerfield, who has two earlier convictions for sexually assaulting women who were strangers to him, has a long history of mental health struggles and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“His mental health challenges have contributed to impaired judgment and reduced impulse control, although they do not negate his ability to understand his actions,” said provincial court Judge Victoria Cornick.

Court was told the victim was preparing to start her shift at St. Boniface General Hospital around 11 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2025. She was walking through the hospital parkade when Dangerfied approached her as she was “effectively trapped” between two cars. Dangerfield told the woman he was going to hug her and made “unwanted physical contact” with her breasts.

According to a report provided to court, Dangerfield later said he knew his actions would get him in trouble and possibly arrested.

“The conduct was purposeful and he acted (with) sexual intent,” Cornick said.

Dangerfield had been released from jail just four days before the assault after being sentenced to six months of time served for a number of theft and robbery offences.

In 2025, Dangerfield was sentenced to four months in jail for two sexual assaults. Court was told that in one instance, Dangerfield grabbed the buttocks of a woman in Winnipeg Square, in another he approached a woman downtown and tried to sell her a chocolate bar. Dangerfield told the woman “I really like your thighs and butt.” When the woman turned to walk away, he grabbed her buttocks.

Court has heard Dangerfield is from Ethiopia and his mother died as the result of an HIV-related illness. He was adopted by a Winnipeg family when he was four or five years old.

Dangerfield’s mental state deteriorated as a teenager, and his parents had him admitted to the Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Centre.

His parents placed him in the care of Child and Family Services when he was 17. He remained with CFS until he was 19, at which time he became a ward of the public trustee.

Following one stint in custody on robbery charges, Dangerfield was released in the middle of winter with no connection to community resources and he lost all of his fingers to frostbite.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca