A convicted felon is facing multiple new charges after being caught sexually assaulting a nursing home resident.
Louie Alonso Alberto, 52, was caught on Tuesday at a nursing home in Seal Beach, California, according to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA). His victim, 85, reportedly suffers from dementia. Alberto previously served time in prison inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.
The OCDA's statement explained how nursing staff at the home had to force their way into the resident's room after they heard screaming. Alberto had seemingly used a wheelchair to barricade himself in the room, where he was found on top of the victim in bed. Staff said that he had also been caught in the room the previous day.
"Sadly we have seen an inordinate amount of our Seal Beach seniors become unfairly victimized by individuals who see them as easy targets," Seal Beach Chief of Police Philip L. Gonshak said in the statement. "A health and rehabilitation facility should be a place where people go to rest and recover. They certainly should never have to worry about being victimized while they're healing. Our detectives are working closely with the Orange County District Attorney's Office to ensure any individual, including this alleged suspect, who preys on those less able to defend themselves are swiftly brought to justice."
Alberto currently faces three felony charges in relation to the incident, including one count of sodomy of an incompetent person and two counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense. The OCDA said that these charges carry a maximum sentence of "seven years to life plus 10 years in state prison."
He is being held in custody on a $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in court on March 18.
"Abuse comes in many forms, but it is the vulnerable and the defenseless who are most often targeted because they aren't able to protect themselves," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. "Our elderly should be cared for with compassion and their legacies and lives treasured, not brutally victimized. No one should suffer the trauma of being sexually assaulted, especially in a place that is intended to provide care for people with dignity and respect."
Deputy District Attorney Ann Fawaz of the office's Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting the case against Alberto.
"I've directed my bureau to conduct an investigation into how a convicted felon was placed in a facility where dementia patients were being treated," Spitzer continued. We are reviewing state law and regulations to see who was responsible for placing that individual in an environment that allowed him access to vulnerable individuals."
Newsweek reached out to the Seal Beach Police Department for comment on this story.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
