Man sentenced in Franklin Hospital nurse attack

A Queens man will spend at least the next decade in jail for attacking a nurse at Franklin Hospital in 2010.

Donte Oakes, 25, of Springfield Gardens, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Nassau County Judge William Donnino. Oakes pleaded guilty last month to first-degree assault.

On Sept. 10, 2010, Oakes, while a patient at Franklin Hospital in North Valley Stream, attacked a registered nurse during a physical therapy session. According to District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Oakes broke a chair in his room and hid one of the legs in his clothing. When physical therapy began, he repeatedly hit the nurse in the head with the chair leg. According to Rice, Oakes and the nurse had previously argued over his refusal to take his medication.

The victim, then 53, suffered multiple cuts and bruises, fractures to the left side of her face and permanent partial blindness in her left eye. She continues to have lasting physical effects.

“Mr. Oakes has caused incredibly suffering and permanent injury to this woman, and he now has more than a decade behind bars to show for it,” Rice said.

A few days after the attack, a vigil was held outside the hospital for the injured nurse. The vigil was organized by the New York State Nurses Association and attended by local medical professionals as well as hospital administration.