Recent Posts in Sexual Abuse Category

This week, a former police officer by the name of Wilfredo Rosario was convicted of sexual abuse.  He was accused of sexually abusing two women who he lured with promises of applications for jobs and also programs for their children.

Now, Rosario is facing up to seven years of jail time for his sexual abuse offense and other charges.  In January, 41 year old Rosario was convicted after he told an 18 year old that he would destroy a court summons against her if she gave him oral sex.  After his conviction, he was dismissed from his job as a police officer. 

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, it is important that you retain legal representation immediately.  You have the right to protect yourself and also to take action against the person that has abused you.  Sometimes, exercising your legal rights is the only way you can stop abuse.  To get help from a North Carolina personal injury lawyer, contact the Lanier Law Group today.

According to Robby Price, he was just 14 years of age in 1999 when a Catholic Priest sexually abused him in Charlotte, North Carolina.   Eight years following the abuse, he kept his mouth shut and told no one of his dramatic ordeal.

He told news sources that while he suffered in silence, he endured flashbacks and painful nightmares.  His past abuse was weighed so heavily upon him that he often through of committing suicide.  These feelings prompted Price to take legal action against his molester.

This past Friday, Price secured a great victory after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte announced that it would pay him a $1 million settlement.  The priest that abused Price, Reverend Robert Yurgel, has since been imprisoned.

The Diocese set aside $47,500 to pay for Price's counseling, therapy and medication over the next five years.  During Yurgel's sentencing, Price had a chance to speak out.  He said to the former priest, "You are a liar, a thief of childhoods and a child molester."  Price says that he is starting to feel closure at this time.

Have you been a victim of sexual abuse in North Carolina?  If so, a North Carolina personal injury lawyer from the Lanier Law Group can help you hold the person that hurt you accountable.  Contact our law office to discuss your case now!

WWAY NewsChannel 3 investigated claims that Glencare of Wilmington, an assisted living facility, has been providing substandard care. Here is what they found:

The staff failed to provide adequate supervision to residents with dementia and special needs in the Special Care Unit. The Department of Social Services (DSS) was informed of two separate incidents in which a resident sexually assaulted two other residents. Both incidents were witnessed by staff members. The resident’s record says he met with a psychiatrist three times in 2008, but the psychiatrist claims that Glencare never told him about the resident’s sexual tendencies. The psychiatrist said if he had known what the resident was doing he could have prescribed medication to suppress his sexual urges.

The report also says a resident care coordinator didn’t file a report about one of the incidents because she didn’t think it qualified as an incident, based on the fact she didn’t see any evidence of an assault. She concluded that nothing happened and failed to send the resident who was assaulted to the doctor. However, Glencare’s policy on non-consensual sexual activity states that if evidence exists that sexual behavior occurred, even if it wasn’t witnessed, the victim must be sent to the emergency room and a doctor must be notified immediately. The administrator is then responsible for notifying the DSS. Not only did staff members witness the acts, but DSS says that doctors were kept in the dark a large majority of the time.

Other violations? The DSS says staff members regularly failed to document medicine distribution, and that the facility hired people who had been flagged for neglecting a patient at other facilities.  

All three of these incidents are considered Type A violations, which DSS defines as violations that can result in the injury, harm, or death of a resident—the worse violation on the books.

Even though 23 complaints were made against the facility last year and eight complaints have been made this year, Glencare still has a 3-star rating on the North Carolina Health Services Adult Care Home Rating website, which was the highest rating a nursing home could receive until the system changed to a four-star rating system this year. A possible reason for such a high rating? The rating is based on a one-day inspection, so if the facility passes the inspection on that particular day, it gets a high rating until the next inspection.

If your loved one was sexually abused or neglected at Glencare of Wilmington or any other nursing home facility, an experienced  North Carolina nursing home abuse lawyer at Lanier Law Group can help you take legal action.  To learn more, contact the office at 1-888-CONSULT to schedule a free consultation.