In a case quite similar to the abuse case discussed earlier on this blog at Loudenville Nursing Home, a maintenance worker at Riverdale Nursing Home has been arrested and charged with sexual assault of an elderly nursing home resident. The worker, in this case a janitor, was allegedly caught in the act of assaulting an eighty-one year old woman at the facility. The resident suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s Disease, and has been unable to provide a formal complaint. Several months ago the woman displayed suspicious injuries including vaginal bleeding that, in retrospect, are consistent with sexual assault. Due to her advanced dementia, however, the possible cause of these injuries was not known until the janitor was caught in the act.
A major difference between the assaults at Riverdale and Loudenville is that at Riverdale, according to the report on cbs.com, the janitor had passed a criminal background check prior to his hiring. The maintenance worker at Loudenville, on the other hand, was a convicted sex offender. The due diligence performed by Riverdale in the hiring process does nothing to alleviate the heinousness of this crime, or the pain felt by the resident and her family. Nor does it relieve the nursing home of its duty to protect the health, well-being, and dignity of its residents. According to the report, there are no security cameras in the area in which the attack occurred. Additionally, it is unclear from the report what steps were taken by the nursing home to investigate the vaginal trauma displayed by the resident several months ago. The criminal case against the janitor is ongoing. It remains to be seen what civil claims, if any, are filed against the facility.
Details of the investigation can be found at newyork.cbslocal.com.
