A dental assistant in Maryland accused of accessing the private media of dozens of patients and co-workers and taking lewd videos of women was sentenced to 24 years in prison but will only serve seven years, according to the Howard County State Attorney's Office.
Delano Draine, 43, of Owings Mills, MD, was sentenced to 24 years in prison with all but seven years suspended. Draine, who worked as a dental assistant at Dental Care of Columbia in Maryland, was given a sentence three years over the recommended sentencing guidelines, according to a press release posted on Facebook on February 28 from the attorney's office.
Additionally, the court prohibited Draine, who pleaded guilty in the fall of 2024 to eight counts of illegal computer access and four counts related to visual surveillance, from engaging in employment at any medical facility. Draine, who was indicted on the offenses in June 2024, must register as a sex offender and participate in sex offender-specific supervised probation for five years and not possess or own a mobile phone with a camera.
In December 2023, a 16-year-old girl told police she was in a dressing room at a clothing store at The Mall in Columbia, MD, when she saw a man using a device to record her over the door of a dressing room. Following an investigation, police identified Draine as a possible suspect. Later that month, police seized various evidence through search warrants and conducted an extensive analysis of Draine's digital devices.
From the devices, police recovered multiple videos of at least 11 female victims. Some of the videos were upskirt shots and others were taken in dressing rooms. The videos were recorded at several locations in Howard County, MD, and the region.
Additionally, Draine allegedly recorded female dental patients and co-workers at a dental practice in Columbia, where he worked as a dental assistant. He purportedly took the videos so he could capture their smartphone passcodes, according to the release. The name of the practice was not identified.
Once Draine had access to patients' and co-workers' phones, he reportedly went through their media galleries and recorded their personal videos and photos on his phone. The dental assistant reportedly had access to the personal media of 37 patients and co-workers, all of whom police believe they have identified. At this time, police don't believe any of the recovered media has been posted on social media or public websites.
