Mental health center employee sentenced to 40 years for abusing patients

Man sentenced for abusing patients at psychiatric hospital

An employee who sexually abused two patients at the Rockville mental health facility he worked at will spend the next 40 years behind bars.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - An employee who sexually abused two patients at the Rockville mental health facility he worked at will spend the next 40 years behind bars.

A Montgomery County judge handed down the sentence Friday to Macdoff Okah in circuit court.

Okah pleaded guilty to one count and a jury convicted him of five others for sexually abusing the two victims undergoing psychiatric care at Adventist Healthcare Behavioral Health.

The 46-year-old Silver Spring resident worked there as a psychiatric technician from 2016 until his firing in 2019.

Macdoff Okah, 40

Prosecutors said Okah abused his position of trust and preyed on his patients while they were in a vulnerable state.

Okah tearfully apologized to his victims in court and begged for forgiveness.

FOX 5 spoke exclusively with Courtney Murray, one of Okah's victims, after today's hearing.

"It was, um, relief that in such a vulnerable state that we were able to have our voices heard," Murray said. "If anybody ever feels vulnerable, you have a voice, and you can stand strong because your voice will be heard."

The judge also ruled that Okah will be on the sex offender registry for life and can never work in the health care profession again or have unsupervised contact with vulnerable adults.