JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of a 94-year-old woman who says she was raped at a Regency nursing home is planning to sue the facility, saying a lack of security is to blame.
According to the police report, it happened last April, and the family's attorney says more people have been reportedly assaulted at the Brookdale Senior Living on Atrium Way since then. No arrests have been made.
Family members say the woman, known as Jane, was at the living facility for eight years. Her daughter says it reminded her of home, but that has since changed.
"There is nothing I can do to make her feel safe anymore," her daughter Myra told News4Jax.
The assault happened as Jane was getting out of bed, the police report states.
"She was attacked from behind. A male in scrubs who threw her on to the bed and proceeded to rape her and sodomize her," said Tom Edwards, the family's attorney.
The report says the man took off when a nurse heard Jane screaming. She was taken to the hospital, where it was determined she was sexually assaulted.
Based on DNA tests, the attorney does not believe she was attacked by a staff member. Police reports confirm other attacks have been reported at the facility in 2018.
"Since this rape, there has been an additional rape on the same hallway," Edwards said. "A man tried to rape another patient. The patient, fortunately, was not raped. They were able to pull an emergency cord in the room and that man fled."
No arrests have been made, and there was only a vague description of a suspect. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office never sent out an alert, and this is the first time the attacks were reported to News4Jax.
Brookdale Senior Living, which owns many nursing facilities, issued this statement:
Our primary concern is our residents. We continue to work with local law enforcement on their investigation related to this incident by a third party. While we do not believe some of the statements made by the attorney are accurate based upon the investigation by local law enforcement, we cannot comment further because of the pending litigation and the privacy of our residents.
News4Jax contacted JSO for more information. Investigators did not immediately respond.