(top) Providence Holy Cross Hospital (right) Jeremias Diego

A certified nursing assistant was taken into custody Tuesday, Sept. 25, on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female patient at Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, and police believe there may be additional alleged victims.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office filed two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery against Jeremias Diego on Wednesday, Sept.26 and Diego, 44, was held on $40,000 bail. Diego was arrested Monday, after a 43- year-old woman alleged that he sexually assaulted her in her room about 4 that morning, the LAPD reported. The alleged assault occurred, as the victim's sister lay asleep nearby in the darkened hospital room, police said.

"After conducting several interviews, we now believe Diego may have done this to other patients as well," LAPD Detective Michael Brox said. Diego has worked as a "floating" nursing assistant at the hospital since April, and has also worked part-time at Los Robles Care Center in Ojai.

The hospital released the following statement: "Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is cooperating with the Los Angeles Police Department in investigating a complaint from a patient who said she was molested in the hospital this week by a certified nursing assistant.

Providence Holy Cross, dedicated to respect, compassion and privacy for every patient, will not comment on this incident. All inquiries are directed to the LAPD's Mission Station.

During the course of investigation, information on a second possible incident surfaced. At the time, however, there was no information that indicated anything inappropriate had occurred.

All of our staff members are trained to report any serious complaints to their supervisors. We take this very serious-ly and are conducting a thorough internal investigation and cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.

However, when The San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol asked spokesperson Pat Aidan what future precautions would be taken at the hospital and possible changes for the screening of employees, Aidan said they were already in place. "We are already trained," Aidan said, "Our employees are already screened and we know what red flags to look for." Aidan said there were no plans for making major changes at the hospital following this incident Diego was hired by Holy Cross as a "floater," which are generally hired by an agency that is contracted by the hospital. It is unclear what kind of screening process Diego received.

The police, meanwhile are urging anyone with information about possible similar incidents involving Diego to call Detective Brox at (818) 838-9902, or Crimestoppers, (800) 222-TIPS.