Christopher Richardson |
CARSON -- A 20-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting three elderly women at a nursing home near Carson.
Christopher Richardson broke into the Heritage Rehabilitation Center at 21414 South Vermont Avenue and sexually assaulted three patients, according to Sgt. Barry Shapiro of the Carson Sheriff's station.
A security camera captured Richardson entering the building around 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, Shapiro said.
"He removed a window screen and entered through an unlocked window," Shapiro said.
"And then he basically assaulted the women."
One woman was sitting in a wheelchair in her room when a man entered through an unlocked window, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the victim.
The woman asked if he was a maintenance man and he said no. Then he sat on her lap and fondled her.
The "terrified" woman threatened to call for help, prompting the man to leave the same way he entered.
He "said he would be back for her later," the suit states.
In all, 3 women were assaulted without the staff being aware there was an intruder.
Richardson was arrested by Gardena police four days later on a burglary charge, according to Sgt. Barry Shapiro of the Carson Sheriff's station.
Gardena police recognized Richardson from a picture on a wanted flier and called authorities in Carson.
Richardson has been charged with committing a lewd act with a dependent adult, elder abuse and burglary.
He will appear in Torrance Court on April 13.
He is being held in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles on $50,000 bail.
A lawsuit has been filed against the Heritage Home which blames understaffing for the intruder's ability to gain access to the victims' rooms without being noticed.
"Defendants conceived, implemented and carried out a scheme to place profits over people at the facility," the suit alleges.
"Defendants intentionally underfunded and understaffed it in order to decrease expenses and increase profits."
Attorneys for the Heritage Home say the allegations are untrue.
Heritage Rehabilitation Center opened in 1974 and has 161 beds, according to a Web site that grades nursing homes operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It gives the nursing home three out of five stars, an average rating.
U.S. News & World Report magazine, which has a nursing home database based upon deficiencies found in state and federal inspections, gives the facility two stars out of five.
Christopher Richardson broke into the Heritage Rehabilitation Center at 21414 South Vermont Avenue and sexually assaulted three patients, according to Sgt. Barry Shapiro of the Carson Sheriff's station.
A security camera captured Richardson entering the building around 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, Shapiro said.
"He removed a window screen and entered through an unlocked window," Shapiro said.
"And then he basically assaulted the women."
One woman was sitting in a wheelchair in her room when a man entered through an unlocked window, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the victim.
The woman asked if he was a maintenance man and he said no. Then he sat on her lap and fondled her.
The "terrified" woman threatened to call for help, prompting the man to leave the same way he entered.
He "said he would be back for her later," the suit states.
In all, 3 women were assaulted without the staff being aware there was an intruder.
Richardson was arrested by Gardena police four days later on a burglary charge, according to Sgt. Barry Shapiro of the Carson Sheriff's station.
Gardena police recognized Richardson from a picture on a wanted flier and called authorities in Carson.
Richardson has been charged with committing a lewd act with a dependent adult, elder abuse and burglary.
He will appear in Torrance Court on April 13.
He is being held in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles on $50,000 bail.
A lawsuit has been filed against the Heritage Home which blames understaffing for the intruder's ability to gain access to the victims' rooms without being noticed.
"Defendants conceived, implemented and carried out a scheme to place profits over people at the facility," the suit alleges.
"Defendants intentionally underfunded and understaffed it in order to decrease expenses and increase profits."
Attorneys for the Heritage Home say the allegations are untrue.
Heritage Rehabilitation Center opened in 1974 and has 161 beds, according to a Web site that grades nursing homes operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It gives the nursing home three out of five stars, an average rating.
U.S. News & World Report magazine, which has a nursing home database based upon deficiencies found in state and federal inspections, gives the facility two stars out of five.
