Mirror staff reports:

Konstantin Kurkov, a Federal Way registered nurse, surrendered his license to the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission and is prohibited from ever holding a health care credential in Washington.

The commission immediately suspended Kurkov’s license in April 2011 after he was charged with second-degree rape in King County Superior Court. His agreement to surrender his nurse’s license completes the legal process, according to the state Department of Health.

The commission alleged that while employed at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, Kurkov examined a patient in the emergency department for back pain without orders from a health care provider, inappropriately touched the patient, and didn’t follow standard medical procedures. The patient filed a complaint with the hospital and Federal Way police.

In May 2012, Kurkov pleaded guilty in Superior Court to second-degree assault. As part of the plea agreement, he agreed to surrender his nursing credential.

According to charging documents, Kurkov allegedly assaulted the patient after she came to the emergency room complaining of back pain.

The assault allegedly took place in March 2011 while the patient and Kurkov were alone in an examination room. Kurkov reported to the woman that blood and urine samples had found nothing irregular, and recommended the woman see a chiropractor. The patient told Kurkov that she could not afford to, and he allegedly offered to take a look at her back.

“He asked her to stand next to the bed and bend over and touch her toes. She bent over and felt ‘weird’ because the entire back of her gown was open to his view,” reads the probable cause affidavit.

The document goes on to explain that after inspecting the patient’s back, Kurkov allegedly asked to check her stomach. Kurkov allegedly then inserted his fingers into the patient’s vagina — wearing no gloves. The document says that Kurkov did this “for some time,” stopping at one point to get the patient’s discharge paperwork. When Kurkov returned, he allegedly told the patient that he needed to continue to check her vagina, at which point she told him, “No, I will go see my regular doctor.”

The patient complained to the hospital, including to Kurkov’s bosses, who identified Kurkov as the nurse by sending the patient his photo.

St. Francis officials confirmed that Kurkov had been accused twice prior to this incident of inappropriate contact with patients. St. Francis spokesman Gale Robinette said that the two prior allegations against Kurkov were investigated — one by police and by the hospital, the second by just an internal hospital investigation — and no evidence was found to either terminate the nurse, or for police to make an arrest. The hospital terminated Kurkov’s employment after the 2011 incident.