According to state health department documents, the victim had only been at Grace Living Center a short time before she was attacked. Staff witnessed the incident and told the charge nurse, who said to get the woman and dress her. Shortly afterward, the woman was found crying and moaning. Staff noticed she was bleeding and contacted police and the woman’s daughter. The victim was later sent to the hospital.

The attacker is a male resident with a history of fondling female residents who are unable to call for help. He also suffers from dementia. The state contends that Grace Living Center staff was aware of the man’s wandering but did not take proper measures to prevent him from harming others. Nursing home resident advocate Wes Bledsoe asked the district attorney’s office to consider filing charges against the perpetrator.

Investigators reported to the State Department of Health that the facility also “did a poor job of protecting evidence” by removing the linens and clothing from the crime scene and putting them in the laundry before they could be investigated by police, according to the news report.

Grace Living Center released a written statement saying it took immediate steps “to provide safety and care of the residents and the male resident was promptly removed from the facility.”

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Nursing home blamed for resident molesting another resident