A Hampden, Maine mother whose son was a victim of abuse in an assisted living facility was shocked to learned the full extent of the abuse from a local newspaper.
The story in the newspaper detailed the abuse two residents of Lee Residential Home endured between 2019 and 2022. The residents, age 26 and 27, have nonverbal autism and were fully dependent on their abusers for care.
Danielle Longsworth, mother to the 26-year-old victim, told Bangor Daily News she discovered details of the case from their Sept. 6 article.
Longsworth was at work when she read what the abuse entailed.
“I was devastated,” she said to the Maine newspaper. “I was really upset. I couldn’t believe that wasn’t shared. That’s a lot not to share with somebody.”
According to court records obtained by BDN, the residents were physically, sexually, and verbally abused. The physical abuse included waterboarding, repeatedly hitting the back of the victim’s head and neck with a serving spoon, choking the resident until he passed out, and a practice Conners and another employee referred to as “speed bagging,” where residents were punched in the genitals.
The victims were also allegedly sexually assaulted with objects and encouraged to engage in sex acts with each other, sometimes in exchange for pizza which they never received.
The court records currently available to the public focus mainly on the abuse of the resident who is not Longsworth’s son. Details on her son’s location for much of the abuse, and what he witnessed or experienced have yet to be released by authorities, leaving Longsworth anxious for answers.
Zachary Conners, 26, is one of four men charged with various counts of endangering the welfare of a dependent person. Conners pleaded guilty to one felony count of endangering the welfare of a dependent person as part of a plea bargain that reduced his five year sentence to 2.5 years.
“I wouldn’t have agreed with the plea bargain if I knew what I know now,” Longsworth said. “I was devastated to hear that 2.5 years — 2.5 years for what they did.”
The three other employees charged in connection to the abuse, Rene Dubois III, Michael Slater and Joshua Martin, have all posted bail and their cases are pending in Penobscot County Superior Court.
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