Nursing home worker raped 81-year-old resident with dementia, NY attorney general says
A former nursing home worker is headed to prison after prosecutors said he raped and sexually assaulted a resident with dementia in New York.
Khadka Pradhan, now 52, was employed as a housekeeper at Shore Winds Nursing Home in Rochester when he raped the 81-year-old woman in September 2021, according to state Attorney General Letitia James.
A judge sentenced Pradhan to 25 years in prison on Jan. 6 after a jury convicted him of first-degree rape and related charges in November, James’ office announced in a news release.
“Khadka Pradhan committed hideous, shocking crimes, violating an elderly nursing home resident who trusted she would be safe at Shore Winds Nursing Home,” James said in a statement.
She added that though “no time served can ease the pain forced upon one of our most vulnerable,” her office is dedicated to prosecuting violent criminals in the state.
Attorney information for Pradhan was not immediately available or specified in the release.
Pradhan used “forcible compulsion” to rape the woman with dementia in her room at the Shore Winds nursing home the morning of Sept. 29, 2021, according to a December 2021 news release announcing his indictment.
Prosecutors didn’t specify in the release how the rape was discovered or how Pradhan became a suspect.
However, Bill Gargan, a Monroe County District Attorney’s office prosecutor, told WHEC-TV in October 2021 that “the reason we have the investigation is because of the quick-witted action and response of an employee and employees of the home.”
The district attorney’s office and the Rochester Police Department helped with the investigation, James’ office said.
Days after the rape, Pradhan was banned from the nursing home and “suspended without pay” as the investigation into him ensued, the nursing home told WHEC-TV in a statement.
He was also convicted of a first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and other offenses described as “lower-level,” according to the release.
Individuals with dementia have issues with memory, communication, judgment and more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 10% of adults who are 65 and older in the U.S. have dementia, Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York reported in October.
If a nursing home resident is believed to be abused or neglected, James’ office urges people to report tips here.
Rochester is in western New York about 75 miles northeast of Buffalo.
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Nursing home worker raped 81-year-old resident with dementia, NY attorney general says."
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