2nd lawsuit filed in San Mateo County targets American Medical Response over assault

Jane Doe allegedly fought off the assault and repeatedly informed loved ones and officials that Ontiveros has attacked her. But no actions were taken at the time because there was no corroborating evidence and the woman’s complaint was not believed by her loved ones.

Jane Doe’s daughter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her family’s privacy and safety, said she thought her mother might have confused emergency equipment for Ontiveros’ penis and told officers so.

The complaint was reconsidered after Ontiveros, a roughly 6-foot-tall, 250-pound man, was also accused of assaulting another woman while transporting her from Colma Skilled Nursing Home to the San Mateo Medical Center on Dec. 23. That incident helped connect Ontiveros to the first after officers remembered another woman had reported being assaulted in May.

“When it happened, I didn’t believe her. I kind of did but I kind of didn’t because her boyfriend said there was no way it could happen. I feel horrible,” Jane Doe’s daughter said. “I want to tell the guy who did it, ‘What if it’s your mother or grandmother, how do you think it’s OK?’ These are the most fragile people there are, they can’t fight back. ... I just wanted to console the other woman and tell her how sorry I am for her and just hug my mom.”

Both women were in their 80s, vulnerable and frail at the time of the alleged assaults, according to both complaints filed by Anne Marie Murphy, Donald Magilligan, Owais Bari and Gayatri Ragunandan with the law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. The complaints allege AMR knew its employee was a threat and did nothing to stop him.

Ontiveros was also an employee of the South San Francisco Fire Department but was fired in 2020 and charged with grand theft after allegedly submitting a fraudulent timecard and stealing about $15,000 for work he did not do over a period of four months, according to the complaint.

The legal team argues in the complaint that AMR either knew or should have known about Ontiveros being fired but chose to hire him anyway and knew about the May accusation of assault and chose to do nothing. According to the complaint, the company’s motivation was “profit over safety” with lawyers arguing Ontiveros was kept on staff because AMR has struggled to hire and retain employees.

Murphy said Ontiveros was in a “unique position of trust” that allowed him access to vulnerable victims who would not be believed if they accused him of assault.

“I think there’s a very good possibility there are other victims of Miguel Ontiveros who didn’t feel comfortable reporting assaults, didn’t feel they would be believed,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, that is the case with many sexual assaults and rapes — the victim doesn’t want to be re-victimized by bringing their complaint forward and not being believed.”

Ontiveros isn’t the only AMR employee to be accused of sexual crimes, according to the complaint. A Portland-area paramedic, Lannie Haszard, pleaded guilty to abusing eight women according to Jane Doe’s lawyers and the website of Kafoury & McDougal, the legal team who represented one of Haszard’s victims. A total of 35 have accused him of assault.

Another AMR paramedic is free on bail and faces criminal charges after being accused of molesting a teenage girl in Riverside County in or around March of 2022, according to the filing.

And in 2020, AMR employees in New Haven, Connecticut, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the company alleging it has a culture of enabling sexual harassment, according to the complaint. AMR responded to that lawsuit by stating it completes background checks on all employees, offers paths for investigating and reporting complaints and will terminate employees when necessary, the complaint added.

Since the first complaint was made public, the firm alleges its team has also been contacted by a number of AMR employees who claim the company in San Mateo is “like high school with lights and sirens” and has a “boys-gone-wild atmosphere” with on-the-job drug and alcohol use. The unchecked culture, the complaint states, is what led to the alleged assaults.

Ontiveros is currently in custody and faces multiple felony counts of forced oral copulation with enhancements for allegedly targeting multiple particularly vulnerable victims and tying them down. He pleaded not guilty.

Soon after Ontiveros’ arrest, he was terminated and the company has fully cooperated with law enforcement, AMR officials said at the time. A spokesperson for AMR said in an email the company “does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation.”

Meanwhile, Jane Doe’s daughter said her mother’s life has changed immensely. Once a talkative and independent woman living with her significant other of 40 years, Jane Doe now resides with her daughter and struggles to get out of bed most days.

“I want this all to come to light. I want these people to feel guilty, to be embarrassed, to be ashamed,” said Jane Doe’s daughter. “I don’t want the guy who actually did this to be out of jail. I don’t, sorry, that’s how I feel.”