CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) — A Currituck County nurse anesthetist and practitioner is being accused of sexually assaulting at least one woman while she was under anesthesia and completely defenseless. Now, a lawsuit could be pending. North Carolina nurse practitioner arrested on forcibl e rape charge, officials say Attorney Kevin Biniazan said he has plans to file a civil lawsuit against Paul Pellini, 54, who was charged with second-degree forcible rape after his Feb. 27 arrest. That alleged offense occurred on Feb. 26, but Biniazan said his client was assaulted on February 11, and he thinks there are even more victims. "From what we've learned through law enforcement, there are multiple individuals who have come forward, or at least that they're investigating these crimes having been committed against [them]," Biniazan said. "The number is something that I suspect will grow and grow as the news continues to cover these issues." Biniazan's lawsuit will allege Pellini took photos of his client after the alleged crime, which investigators now have. He said that the victim was able to identify pictures presented to her by investigators of tattoos on her body as her own, allegedly taken by Pellini. An investigation is also underway on whether anyone else had any knowledge of the alleged crimes, Biniazan said. Going to the lengths to document the alleged crime, in Biniazan's opinion, is likely an indicator that this was not a one-time incident. "We suspect there are many, many victims," Biniazan said. "And the signs — how do I put this? All indications are when an individual is going to the lengths in order to not just perform, but to [also] document these sort of acts, it's not a single one time occurrence for an individual or for others." While under anesthesia, the victims would be completely defenseless to any potential crime. "They are physically helpless and mentally unconscious, so they have no understanding or appreciation of what's going on around them or who's in the room with them," Biniazan said. "And therefore, they are, for this man, a helpless victim that he can perpetrate these crimes against." “Our client, unfortunately, was able to identify her body and a photograph to identify that she was one of the individuals that was a victim of his sexual assault," Biniazan said. "… She recognized her tattoo.”   Biniazan said his client is not the only one.   “From what we understand, she's not the only woman that this has happened to, that this was some sort of a pattern or practice of his to put individuals under anesthesia without supervision and sexually assault them while he's alone in the room. And they are helpless and hopeless.”   Biniazan said he received important information in the last day that delayed the filing of the lawsuit, having learned that others in the office may have known.   “What we are saying in the lawsuit is that the position that he held should have been supervised," Biniazan said. "In most states, it is required to be supervised by a physician … What we anticipate we will find is that it wasn't just an act of Mr. Pellini all by himself without anyone else's involvement. What we anticipate is that there should have been supervision of this individual in order to be able to identify these acts."   Most importantly, Biniazan said someone should have done something to bring what allegedly happened to light.  “Pellini should never have been in the room alone with any of these women," Biniazan said. "It's a matter of medical protocol, whether you're a nurse, whether you're a doctor or otherwise, and so ultimately, the lawsuit is not just focused on his acts, but the acts of others that should have been able to prevent this.” ...read more read less