Nursing Home With History Of Dealing With Sexual Abuse Allegations Ordered Shut Down By State Regulators Over New Unreported Claims Of Unwanted Touching Of Demetia-Suffering Residents; Loved Ones Sent Scrambling To Find New Accommodations For Over Four Dozen Vulnerable Adults Getting The Boot

In Port Orange, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:

• Families in Port Orange are trying to find where to move their loved ones after the state ordered the closure of a Volusia County assisted living facility in light of claims that residents were being sexually abused.
  
  According to these documents obtained by Channel 9's Jeff Levkulich from the Agency for Health Care Administration, officials allege the administrator at Grace Manor in Port Orange turned a blind eye when it came to a male resident who had been allegedly sexually assaulting female residents since May.
  
  ACHA said none of the incidents were documented, and there were no investigations.
  
  Neither police nor the Department of Children and Families were called in to investigate.
  
  One of the solutions to keep the man away from the women was to lock residents in their room at night. But officials said that could have had disastrous consequences if a fire were to break out. Levkulich was told to leave the building when he tried to talk to management. "We are just trying to find out what's going to happen to the people here," he said.
  
  Management handed Levkulich a statement from Tod Petty, president of Thrive Senior Living:
  
  “The safety of our residents is always a top priority. We understand the seriousness of this issue. This is why we have already made some internal steps. But we continue to review our policies and procedures and will make changes as needed.”
  
  A resident's wife, Kathy Catsantonis, said she was looking for a new place for her husband. "I'm shocked. The place is fabulous. I mean, it's immaculate. I'm just shocked," she said.
  
  An employee told Levkulich they are working to keep Grace Manor open.
  
  It is not the first time Grace Manor has been investigated. Investigators said a nursing assistant admitted to sexually battering three elderly women in 2015, but Channel 9 learned that prosecutors dropped the charges against him.(1)

Source: State orders Port Orange assisted living facility to close after sex assault allegations.

See also:

State-shuttered Port Orange ALF sued earlier for abuse (Grace Manor houses some 52 patients in the 54-bed facility, and must cease operation by July 26):

• The 19-page AHCA order documents at least three incidents when a male patient attempted to engage in sexual acts with female residents — all of them unwanted. A Port Orange Police Department incident report states that the three alleged victims and the male patient all suffered from dementia and "due to their mental state, no crime occurred."

Nursing Home Accused of Ignoring Predator:

• An assisted living facility in Volusia County, Fla. negligently hired a man with a history of extreme physical and sexual violence and gave him free rein in the institution where he raped mentally impaired residents, a lawsuit claims.

-------------------------

(1) See Despite confession, charges dropped in elderly sexual abuse cases, police say:

• [C]harges have been dropped because, according to records, the patients' memories are so poor that they have no recollection of being sexually abused.
  
  "Without those key witnesses or DNA this case is dead. It does not matter if the suspect confessed, prosecutors need to prove a crime was committed," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.