Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced on June 23, 2023, that an East Providence nursing home resident had been charged with sexually assaulting a staff member. The resident was arrested by the East Providence Police on April 6, 2023. The Office of the Attorney General charged the 78-year-old man, by way of criminal information, with three counts of second-degree sexual assault.
As alleged in the criminal information, on March 31, 2023, East Providence Police began reviewing a recorded statement made by a staff member at the nursing home in East Providence. On the recording, the victim identified the defendant as her assailant, alleging that he had both physically and verbally assaulted her multiple times.
As alleged, the victim stated that around December 25, 2022, the defendant pushed his call button and she responded to the alert. Upon entering the defendant’s room, the victim alleged that the defendant made sexually suggestive comments towards her. A few days later, the victim alleged that the defendant inappropriately touched her.
As further alleged, about a month later, the defendant made a request of the victim that was sexual in nature. The victim described another incident during which the defendant inappropriately touched her. Further, the victim described yet another incident with another employee, during which the defendant threatened to sexually assault them.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Sexual harassment or sexual assault is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. A complaint of harassment must be investigated promptly and impartially. Equal employment opportunity laws prohibit punishing job applicants or employees for asserting their rights to be free from employment discrimination including harassment. Participating in a complaint process is protected from retaliation under all circumstances.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures guiding the actions of teaching, preventing, reporting, investigating, and correcting alleged abuse complaints to ensure that all incidents are handled correctly and reported to the proper authorities as required.
- Train staff regarding abuse and exploitation, including the potential for sexual assault; their responsibility to monitor, prevent, and intervene in assaults of any kind, including staff-to-resident, resident-to-staff, and resident-to-resident; and how to immediately report the incidents to their supervisor or through the facility’s Hotline. Teach staff to look out for each other and work as a team to ensure a safe and secure environment for all those within the facility. Ensure they are aware of individual residents who may pose a physical threat and prepare accordingly. Care planning of multiple staff members assigned to enter the room together may help to limit any potential physical threats. Teach staff to understand the importance of considering environmental factors and the characteristics of the individual when interacting with residents who may pose a degree of physical threat.
- Periodically audit to determine if all complaints are investigated and reported as required to appropriate authorities. Also, audit to ensure that resident risk evaluations regarding sexual or other aggressive behaviors are current and that interventions are included in the individual’s care plan, including the need for staff to monitor and protect other residents and staff from assaults.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
