Nursing Home Rapist In Custody

40-year-old, Roberto Cruz Recendes, was extradited to the United States and placed under arrest for the 2002 beating and rape of a 94-year-old woman in a Palo Alto assisted living center, according to Palo Alto Police.  The arrest stems from a May 10, 2002 incident at an assisted living facility.   Police responded after a resident reported she had been beaten and raped by an intruder, agent Dan Ryan said.  Recendes lived near the facility at the time of the incident and since relocated to Mexico.

Currently, Recendes is charged with one count of sexual assault during the commission of a burglary and one count of elder abuse with great bodily injury, according to Ryan. He is being held in the Santa Clara County main jail without bail.  Read more about this case of elder abuse here.iStock_000004326573XSmall

It is great that law enforcement officials were able to work together to track down this guy.  The question remains: Was this incident preventable in the first place?  The answer most likely is a resounding ‘yes.’  Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have a duty to provide safe environments for their residents.  This includes screening all people who enter the facility, securing all windows and doors and most importantly–carefully monitoring the residents.

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