When we place loved ones in a nursing home, we expect that they will be safe from harm. Often, relatives with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease become too much for their loved ones to care for and help must be sought in the form of a nursing home or extended-care facility. It is expected, given the fact that seniors with this condition have limited, if any, mental capacity that they will be kept safe from predators that would seek to take advantage.
Even though most nursing homes do thorough background checks before hiring staff, they cannot always know that a staff member is a potential predator. As the Daily Journal Online reports, one nursing home employee is facing charges of allegedly raping a woman with dementia.
Out of Farmington, Missouri, it is reported that an employee of an Eastern Missouri nursing home is facing charges of allegedly having raped a resident.
In a statement, the nursing home said that resident safety is a top priority and that the accused worker has been fired.
44-year-old James Royce Weber of Bonne Terre, is facing charges of rape in the first degree.
Weber had been seen by a visitor coming out of the resident’s room. When another staff member went in to check on the woman, she was unclothed from the waist down. The police were notified.
When they questioned the 74-year-old resident, she said that she had intercourse with Weber.
Documents indicate that the woman suffered from Alzheimer’s and dementia, along with other conditions.
Weber is being held on $150,000 bond.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of neglect or abuse while in a nursing home, let the attorneys at the law offices of Shenk Smith work for you. We can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call today.
