Administrator tried to cover up rape of resident
The family of a 69-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against a Chicago 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. It 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.
"The only possible reason that you would be in this situation is a profit motive," attorney for the family said. "You want more residents in your facility, but you're unwilling to pay for the necessary elements to protect all the residents."
Christopher Shelton had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression when he was admitted to the nursing home in November. 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. Had the facility checked, it would have discovered Shelton had an outstanding arrest warrant on felony battery charges. 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.
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. Later, a night shift nurse heard an elderly woman moaning and crying. The nurse found 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. Doyle who was the Administrator at the facility downplayed the encounter as consensual sex in a report to the state and encouraged employees to lie about it to cover it up.
The state and federal governments only fined the nursing home $44,400 for violations related to the incident.
