‘Touchy’ nurse Stephan Harris banned for eight months for tickling, groping

A former nurse in regional Victoria subjected his colleagues to years of sexual harassment, including pinching and slapping bottoms.

Stephan Harris faced the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeal over his touchy behaviour towards colleagues.

A “touchy” regional hospital nurse subjected his colleagues to years of sexual harassment — including groping, unwanted tickling and “uncomfortable” messages on social media — has been banned for working as a nurse for eight months.

Former Rural Northwest Health nurse Stephan Harris faced the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeal on Friday, where his registration was suspended and he was ordered to undergo professional education courses, among other sanctions.

The tribunal one of Mr Harris’s four victims was the target of his misconduct for four years.

Once, during a staff photo shoot, Mr Harris pinched her from behind “on the butt … more towards my vagina”.

“I felt physically ill when I realised it was Steve who pinched me,” the woman said.

She described Mr Harris as “a bit touchy at work”.

“I think he thought it was funny,” she said.

A second victim said Mr Harris constantly tickled her.

“I don’t like being touched much,” she said.

“He would do it nearly every day I saw him.

Stephan Harris' registration was suspended and he was told to undergo education courses.

“Steve didn’t think he was doing anything wrong, he would do it in front of others.

“Steve would also come up and pat me on the bum.”

In mid-2019, just before the women complained to hospital management and the Nursing and Midwifery Board, Mr Harris sent the second victim a bizarre love poem.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, you are beautiful, and I really like you,” the poem said.

“The messages sort of stopped in around May/June 2019, and I thought that was a good thing,” the woman said.

Mr Harris’s third victim complained about being “slapped on the backside” in front of a patient.

“It was a reasonably hard slap … I was stunned,” she said.

“Before I could say anything (the resident) spoke out and said to Stephen ‘don’t you ever do that to her ever again’.

“Stephen went very quiet after he was told off.”

A fourth colleague complained about messages in which Mr Harris called her “beautiful”.

“I had to block Steve on Facebook,” she said.

“We were not developing a relationship or anything.”

After being suspended and resigning, Mr Harris began work at Cobden Health and is currently unemployed.

In a written judgment, the tribunal said it Mr Harris’s conduct was “unsolicited, unwelcome and uninvited” but that there was no evidence to prove he was motivated by a sexual interest in the women.

Mr Harris will have to pass education courses, be mentored and write a “reflective report” showing “lessons learnt” from his behaviour before being re-registered as a nurse.