Sex crimes

Jackonsville, North Carolina, June 1, 2009 - JD News reports that 48-year-old Timothy Mark Gray was charged on Wednesday with raping a physically disabled woman on June 15, 2009. According to a Sheriff's Department press release, the woman, who is paralysed on the right side of her body from multiple strokes as the result of an automobile accident, stayed with Gray during May and June. She was unable to fight back, according to the release. Bond was set at $100,000 secured.

San Antonio, Texas, June 30, 2009 - San Antonio News reports the arrest of 46-year-old Guadalupe Esparza on the charge of sexually assaulting a woman with a neurodegenerative disorder that causes limited short-term memory and an unsteady gait on February 23 near a fire station. Esparza, who is homeless, was arrested after police used DNA evidence to connect him to the assault. His bond was set at $75,000.

New Orleans, Louisiana, June 29, 2009 - According to the New Orleans Metro, a mother has reported the repeated rape of her 14-year-old developmentally disabled daughter by "two known males" in recent weeks after a group of teenagers lured her to an abandoned building near her Uptown home. The girl was lured out of her home to the building while her mother is at work, it is reported. According to the New Orleans Police Department, detectives are investigating the case and believe they have identified a suspect.

Tampa Bay, Florida, June 28, 2009 - Tampa Bay News reports the arrest of 43-year-old William M. Reich of Holiday who is accused of sexually abusing a young developmentally disabled girl, whose age is stated as between 9 and 10 years old, in May. According to the Sheriff's Office, Reich "forced the child to use a sex toy by telling her she would be in trouble and punished if she didn't." Reich was released on $20,000 bail. According to the police report, Reich has "a history of this type of allegation" against him.

Grand Junction, Colorado, June 25, 2009 - The Grand Junction Sentinel reports the arrest on Wednesday of 46-year-old Roger Dale Smith on suspicion that he raped a developmentally disabiled woman in her room at Hilltop Community Resources, then broke into the facility 12 days later and attempted to rape another woman. He is being held on $200,000 bond on two counts of sexual assault, second-degree burglary and attempted sexual assault.

Lawsuit against Chicago nursing home claims it failed to protect a woman from sexual assault

From the Associated Press (May 13)

Chicago, Illinois (AP) — The family of a 69-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against a suburban nursing home for failing to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident.

Maplewood Care's administrator tried to cover up a rape by calling it consensual sex, aid attorney Pete Flowers, who represents the woman's family and called the case against the Elgin facility the most flagrant example of nursing home negligence he has seen.

It also is an example of how mixing frail senior citizens and younger mentally ill residents in nursing homes can lead to violence if facilities do not monitor potentially dangerous residents, Flowers said.

"The only possible reason that you would be in this situation is a profit motive," he said. "You want more residents in your facility, but you're unwilling to pay for the ecessary elements to protect all the residents."

Ron Nunziato, an executive with Lincolnwood-based S.I.R. Management, which operates the nursing home and seven other Chicago-area facilities, said he had no comment on the lawsuit or the alleged rape in January.

Christopher Shelton was missing at bed check, but "no search was made or alarm sounded to alert residents and staff that a young, aggressive, sexually frustrated, convicted felon was prowling the halls of the nursing home," the lawsuit alleges.

Later, a night shift nurse heard an elderly woman moaning and entered her room, a state investigation found. The nurse found the alleged victim crying and Shelton in her bathroom, where he was calling 911 to report that someone was attacking the woman.

Paramedics and an emergency room doctor later examined the woman and noted signs of sexual trauma, according to the state investigator's report.

Shelton had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression when he was admitted to the nursing home in November. The state report showed he had told the nursing home staff in December that he was sexually frustrated, but the facility failed to monitor him more closely.

The state and federal governments fined the nursing home $44,400 for violations related to the incident.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of a resident identified only as Jane Doe to protect her privacy, seeks at least $50,000 in damages.

Named as defendants are Maplewood Care, S.I.R. Management and the facility's former administrator, James L. Doyle. A telephone number for Doyle could not be located and it was unclear whether he has an attorney.

According to the lawsuit, Doyle downplayed the encounter as consensual sex in a report to the state and encouraged employees to lie about it to cover it up.

Shelton, who was arrested at the nursing home, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including aggravated sexual assault, said Kane County public defender David Kliment. A trial date has not been set.

The civil lawsuit claims the woman's family was not told the nursing home had admitted young adult residents "with a history of violent and aggressive criminal behaviors."

Shelton, a convicted felon and a former resident of the Elgin facility, was readmitted to the nursing home without a proper review of his criminal history, the lawsuit says. Had the facility checked, it would have discovered Shelton had an outstanding arrest warrant on felony battery charges.

U.S. nursing homes have become dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness, according to an Associated Press analysis earlier this year.

In the analysis, Illinois ranked highest among the states in the number of mentally ill adults under age 65 living in nursing homes — more than 12,000 last year.

Reports in the news of sexual abuse

Here are summaries of some of the reports in the media this past week of sexual assault against people with disabilities (20 January-1 February, 2009). In all reports, the assailant is a male; the youngest man is 26-year-old and the oldest, 74. In three out of the four cases, those assaulted by him are female, and in one report, it's suggested that numerous women may have been abused. In two cases, the abuse occurred in a housing facility for people with disabilities.

Waukesha, Wisconsin (28 January, 2009) - A 34-year-old man was arrested for allegedly forcing his way into the home of 70 year-old women with physical disabilities and sexually assaulting her. More here ...

Louisville, Kentucky (22 January, 2009) - A 42-year-old man was charged with raping a 13-year-old girl who has cerebral palsy at his sister's home. More here ...

Hamilton, AB, Ca (21 January, 2009) - The 74-year-old operator of a downtown care facility for disabled and developmentally disabled women was charged with sexually assaulting his residents. More here ...

Bixby, Oklahoma (20 January, 2009) - A 26-year-old former nursing home worker was charged with caretaker abuse and sexual abuse amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a physically and developmentally disabled male resident while he was bathing him. More here ...

What sorts of people: Caregivers or keepers?

Disability scholar Professor Dick Sobsey has posted these thoughts about a Seattle Post Intillegencer article which tells the disturbing story of a woman living in a Washington residential home facility for people with developmental disabilities who was raped and impregnated by a nursing assistant. Here is the first paragraph:

Many people with disabilities depend on caregivers in various essential areas of their lives. At their best caregiving relationships meet the needs of both the giver and receiver of care. The story of “Aunt Dot” in Rock Hill, South Carolina provides a powerful demonstration of the dedication of many caregivers. Her young niece, who had cerebral palsy and was cognitively impaired, had gone to live with Dot for awhile, so her niece could access a better school program. Decades later in 2008, her then 65-year-old niece was still living with Aunt Dot, when an intruder broke into their home. Her niece was raped and killed, and 86-year-old Aunt Dot was beaten and stabbed and stabbed trying to defend her. Dot lived for another 6 months, and her only regret was that she couldn’t protect her niece. (see icad for more on this case).

Professor Sobsey's (who is the editor of the blog ICAD) full post is here ...

Recent reports of sexual abuse of women with disabilities

A reminder, sadly, that the sexual abuse of women with disabilities continues to pervade American society. The ages of these six women range between 11-years-old and 70-years-old. Four of them have developmental disabilities.

Black River, Michigan - WWNY TV 7 reported on Monday that a 60-year-old man who pleaded guilty to raping a woman with developmental disabilities in her home was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. It is reported that the man has a previous conviction for raping a woman.

Erie County, Pennsylvania - Times News reported that a 26-year-old man was convicted of assaulting and then "brutally" raping a 53-year-old woman with developmental disabilities. The man was sentenced to 18-years and 3 months to 39 years in prison.

Livingston County, Michigan - The Livingston Daily reported that a 21-year man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a a 11-year-old girl with disabilities was sentenced to 23 months in prison.

Salem, Oregon - The Seattle Post-Intelligence reported that a former caretaker was convicted of raping and sodomizing a 70-year-old woman with developmental disabilities. The 59-year-old man was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Clay County, Florida - A 28-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the sexual battery and "repeated" rape of a woman who uses a wheelchair, News 4 reports. According to Clay County officials, it was the second time the man had been charged with sexually abusing a disabled woman: at that time, he served six months in jail but was not required to be listed with the state's sex offender registry.

Moffat County, Colarado - On November 3, the Craig Daily Press reported that a 32-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman with developmental disabilities.

A man has been accused of raping and sexual abusing a developmentally disabled teenage girl in his home in Odgen

The man, 57, is charged with 17 counts including rape, sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a developmentally or physically disabled person, according to this report from Ogden, Utah.

The girl, who is 16-years-old, has told police that she was raped and sexually abused over the past year in the man's home in Odgen.

Information about the man's relation to the girl - was he employed as her caregiver? - is not provided.