A 21-year-old certified nursing assistant has been indicted on multiple felony charges of sexually assaulting a 68-year-old patient at a Florence nursing home.
Zachariah Lee Reeves is indicted on charges of first-degree sodomy, attempted first-degree sodomy and second-degree elder abuse, according to court documents made public Tuesday. Reeves initially was arrested last month. He was working at Mitchell-Hollingsworth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center when the alleged assault happened, according to authorities. He since has been fired.
Another CNA caught Reeves straddling a 68-year-old patient and engaging in a sexual act on Nov. 2, according to court documents.
When the other nursing assistant walked into the patient's room, "Reeves jumped off of the victim and crouched next to the bed," Florence police Detective Kevin Jackson wrote in court records. "The observing CNA told Reeves they were going to report him to the charge nurse. Reeves begged the CNA not to."
Supervisors put Reeves on leave and contacted police.
Jackson wrote in court records that he interviewed the witness, Reeves and the victim. The victim told police Reeves forced him to perform oral sex and assaulted him, court papers state.
"The victim sustained an injury to his finger while trying to push Reeves away from him to prevent the sexual assault," Jackson wrote in the arrest affidavit.
"To be clear, as administrator of Mitchell-Hollingsworth for 14 years, this kind of incident has not happened before and we have a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate treatment of our residents," Scheri said in the statement. "Our staff immediately and appropriately responded to this situation. We have worked closely with the family and local law enforcement to ensure they have all the facts.
Nursing assistant accused of sodomizing 68-year-old
The suspect was caught in the act by another nursing home employee, authorities said.
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