Police have arrested an employee of Farmington Presbyterian Manor for the alleged rape of a resident who suffered from dementia.  According to the Daily Journal newspaper, the employee was seen leaving the room of the resident by a visitor to the facility.  A shift supervisor later entered the resident’s room and found her unclothed from the waist down.  The resident apparently told those in authority that she and the employee had sexual intercourse.  When confronted, the employee reportedly admitted to having sexual intercourse with the resident.  The full story in the Daily Journal can be read here.

Criminal Charges Filed

On May 10, 2017, the State of Missouri filed a Complaint outlining the charges against the employee.  In the one Count Complaint the St. Francois Prosecutor’s office charged that the defendant employee committed the crime of first degree rape when he “knowingly had sexual intercourse [with] an incapacitated person because of a mental condition in which the person was unable to appraise the nature of their own conduct” in violation of section 566.030 of the Missouri Statutes.

In a related Probable Cause document a Farmington Police Department Detective states that the employee admitted to having sexual intercourse with the resident on two occasions, one on March 18, 2017, which is the date the incident described in the Daily Journal occurred and another time approximately three weeks earlier.

Facility Previously Cited For Failing To Verify No Abuse History For An Employee

In its most recent annual survey Farmington Presbyterian Manor was cited by the State of Missouri for failing to: 1) Hire only people with no legal history of abusing, neglecting or mistreating residents; or 2) report and investigate any acts or reports of abuse, neglect or mistreatment of residents.  According to the written survey, an employee was hired on January 19, 2016 but the required check of the Nurse Aide Registry was not completed, nor was a Federal indicator (an investigation on employee history for abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property) present in the employee’s hiring documentation.  Since survey documents do not specifically name individuals, it is impossible to tell whether the employee at issue in the July 2016 survey is the same person involved in the alleged rape of the Farmington Presbyterian Manor.

Questions

• What background check was completed on the employee?
• Had there been previous complaints against this employee by residents, family members or other employees for inappropriate comments, inappropriate physical contact or sexual contact?
• Where was he assigned to work during the two shifts when he claims to have had sexual intercourse with the resident?
• Was he assigned to provide care to this resident?
• Who was his supervisor?
• How closely was he being supervised?
• How many employees were on duty at the time these events occurred?
• Does the facility have surveillance cameras in the hallway where the resident’s room is located?  (If so, take the family should immediately take the steps necessary to ensure that the videos are preserved).
• Did the resident have any roommates that might have seen these events take place?
• Did the employee’s demeanor change in the three weeks between the alleged rapes and did other employees notice that change?
• What training did staff members have regarding signs of sexual assault on residents?
• If this happened twice as the employee has allegedly admitted, why was this not discovered before the second event?
• What happened to the resident’s clothes, bedsheets and other physical evidence after the rape was first reported?