Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Recent reports in the media of sexual assault against women with disabilities

Below are some of the cases of sexual assault against women with disabilities reported in the media since December 11. In the following cases, all three women, one aged 24, one 34, the other 18, have developmental disabilities. One male assailant is 21-years-old, the other two, 57; one is a neighbourhood acquantaince, one is a friend of the woman's family, the other, her transport provider.

Manassas, Virginia - A 21-year-old man was arrested on Monday in connection with the sexual assault of a 24-year-old woman with developmental disabilities, it is reported here. Brayan Migdanio Bustillow Fuentes, who lived in the woman's neighborhood and knew him, is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on February 10. was known to the woman, Brayan Migdanio Bustillo Fuentes, 21, 9933 Portsmouth Rd., was charged with rape and is being held without

Harrisonburg, Virginia - The Daily News Record reports that a 57-year-old former cab driver hired by the family of a 34-year-old woman with Down syndrome to drive her to and from an adult day care has been charged with sexually assaulting her. According to this December 15 report by WHSV News, Ted Smith is charged with aggravated sexual battery and will appear before a trial jury on February 25, 2009.

St. Petersburg, Florida - A 57-year-old man was arrested on December 12 on charges he sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman with developmental disabilities. According to the Tampa Tribune, Benjamin Levy, who was a friend of the woman's family, was being held in jail without bail. Remarkably, Levy was on probation for sexually assaulting a chid younger than 16 in 1997. He has been charged with sexual battery of a disabled person, and also with violating his probation in the 1997 case.