Ex-Willits Hospital Worker Found Guilty of Spiking Drink, Sex Assault Charges
Colleague was invited over to watch movies
A Mendocino County jury on Wednesday convicted former respiratory therapist Matthew Ryan Mayo of sexually assaulting a colleague whom was first secretly drugged with zolpidem, the sedative commonly marketed as Ambien, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.
Mayo, 45, formerly of Hopland and Sonoma County, was found guilty of rape of an intoxicated or incapacitated person, administering a controlled substance to commit a sex felony, and distributing a photograph of an intimate body part without consent, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, the crimes occurred in May 2020, when Mayo was employed at Howard Hospital in Willits. Authorities said Mayo invited a female co-worker to his home after work for drinks and movies, then secretly added zolpidem to a beer he gave her.
Prosecutors said the sedative, particularly when combined with alcohol, can rapidly impair judgment, coordination and memory, leaving victims unable to resist or fully understand what is happening. The drug is associated with anterograde amnesia, a condition that can prevent victims from forming memories while under its influence.
The victim later reported partial recollections of the assault to law enforcement after her memory began returning once she was home, according to the district attorney’s office.
The jury returned its verdict after a seven-day trial before Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Victoria Shanahan.
Following the verdict, Shanahan ordered Mayo remanded into custody without bail pending further proceedings.
A hearing is scheduled for May 28 to determine whether aggravating circumstances apply in the case. Mayo will later be referred to the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department for a sentencing recommendation before sentencing is scheduled.
In 2023, the Respiratory Care Board of California obtained a court order restricting Mayo’s professional license pending resolution of the criminal case, prosecutors said.
The investigation involved the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Justice DNA laboratory in Redding and the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations.
Expert testimony during the trial came from medical, forensic and toxicology specialists, including Dr. Kristen Marin of Adventist Health Ukiah Valley and toxicology expert Dr. Marc LeBeau of Missouri.
District Attorney David Eyster prosecuted the case.