JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former dental hygienist is defending himself in new court records after patients accused him of kissing them during their appointments at a Northside dental office.
Action News Jax first uncovered the complaints about Alan Nazareno a year-and-a-half ago.
Nazareno is also facing criminal battery charges related to three women, all within one month.
Two of those women are separately suing the former dental hygienist and his employer Greenberg Dental & Orthodontics.
"He kissed me. And it was such a shock," one of those patients told Action News Jax in Feb. 2018.
She said she was inspired to come forward after finding out from Action News Jax’s reporting that she wasn’t the only patient Nazareno reportedly kissed.
“When his picture came up, it was like a slap in the face to me,” she told Action News Jax in Feb. 2018.
The first patient also reported to police Nazareno told her, “Just don’t lose that booty.”
Both were patients at the Greenberg Dental & Orthodontics office on Dunn Avenue.
Action News Jax is not revealing the patients’ names because the crimes they reported were sexual in nature.
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In new court records, Nazareno’s attorney claimed “the contact, if any” was consensual.
In one woman’s case, Nazareno’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses claimed the contact was “related to Plaintiff’s care.”
The documents also claimed the patients were “guilty of negligence which solely caused or proximately contributed to cause the alleged injuries and damages.”
The records do not elaborate on how Nazareno believes the patients were negligent.
“They’re basically stating that this could be her fault and that she was the one that caused all this to happen,” said Kris Nowicki, who represents one of the patients suing Nazareno.
Nazareno surrendered his dental hygienist license in March 2018.
He is due back in court on the three criminal battery charges later this month.
Cox Media Group
