YAKIMA -- State health officials summarily suspended the license Thursday of a male nurse in Yakima who allegedly molested a girl over a 10-year period, begining when she was 6 or 7.

The registered nurse, 53, used his position of trust and authority as a health care provider to gain physical access to the victim in order "to fulfill his deviant sexual desires," according to the charging statement issued by the state Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission, the nursing disciplinary board in the Department of Health.

The alleged molestation started in 1997 and continued through October 2007, according to the charges.

Terry West, deputy executive director of the Department of Health, said the department became aware of the alleged abuse through a joint referral from the Department of Social and Health Services and an individual complainant, whom she declined to identify.

Yakima County prosecutors say the case has been referred to them but that no decision has been made on whether to file criminal charges.

The nurse couldn't be located for comment.

Officials won't say whether the alleged incidents occurred in a health care or residential setting, but West said she is reasonably certain they didn't happen in a medical clinic or hospital.

She said the nurse was employed at Willow Springs Care, a Yakima nursing home, and that the allegations were the first the state received about him since he was licensed. West said she could not by law reveal additional information about the girl's medical condition or how state officials learned of the alleged abuse.

Citing the nurse's "willingness to exploit a vulnerable person," the nursing commission summarily suspended his license instead of allowing him to continue to work in a supervised setting pending the final outcome of his case.

The girl was afraid to tell anyone about his behavior "because she did not trust her instinct that what was going on was inappropriate," according to the charges, which state that he regularly acted like he was conducting medical examinations.

"Victim 'A' simply had a hard time believing someone would abuse her," the commission's report said.

The man was licensed as a registered nurse in 1992. The alleged molestation began two years later when, according to the charges, he taught the victim how to kiss and forced her to sit on his lap in a "mutually accessible hot tub."

He has 10 days to request a hearing and 20 days to respond to the charges.