|
|
Study Finds Sex Offenders Living in Nursing Homes
Associated Press
July 31, 2005
A new study by a nursing home watchdog group found almost 800 registered sex offenders, including at least 24 in Oklahoma, living in long-term care facilities nationwide.
The study, released Sunday by A Perfect Cause, identified 795 offenders, up from the 380 offenders the group found in a similar study last year.
The study follows reports by the Tulsa World that found registered sex offenders and other types of offenders living in Oklahoma nursing homes.
Wes Bledsoe, founder and president of the nonprofit group, said the increase in the number of registered sex offenders in nursing homes was "very disturbing."
"Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are definitely more registered sex offenders and other predators living in nursing homes across America," Bledsoe said.
The Oklahoma City-based group matched online sex-offender registries in 36 states with the addresses of nursing homes, assisted living centers, residential care homes and other long-term care facilities.
The study did not include data from 11 states and the District of Columbia, which have no online registries or have incomplete address information.
States with the most offenders in long-term care facilities were Texas, with 124 offenders; Illinois, 121; and California, 106. The study found at least 24 offenders listed as living in Oklahoma facilities.
A law passed this year in Oklahoma requires nursing homes that house offenders to post notifications they receive from law enforcement agencies.
Mary Brinkley, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, said she is not aware of any homes that have posted the notices. The organization represents nonprofit aging services providers.
Brinkley said the law requires law enforcement agencies to send notices to facilities if registered sex offenders or other violent offenders are living there.
"The big question is whether law enforcement is doing that," she said.
At least two nursing homes in Tulsa have posted notices. The Mayfair has a notice alerting residents that a registered sex offender resides at the facility, said Administrator Keith Lombardi. Records list two offenders residing at Manorcare Health Services.
Brinkley said the issue of what to do with aging offenders is a complicated one for the industry.
"We have to look at: Do they still pose a threat to individuals?" Brinkley said. "The state is going to have to decide what other options would be available."
But Bledsoe said the study shows that offenders in nursing homes are a threat to residents, visitors and employees.
"We have busted the myths about what is happening in these facilities, one of the myths being, `Well, they are all old.' In our national study, 45 percent are under 60 years of age."
The group has also documented two cases in which elderly offenders in Florida and Nevada raped or sexually assaulted other residents, he said.
|
|
