Judge sentences man Thursday to 2-5 years in prison, records show
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A former nursing assistant accused of sexually assaulting a quadriplegic patient on a ventilator while bathing her could serve up to five years in prison after a judge sentenced him Thursday.
Arrold Jean, 56, originally faced three criminal counts of sexual assault involving a vulnerable person after his arrest in 2021. Jean worked at Transitional Care of Las Vegas, a rehabilitation facility, court documents filed by the victim’s attorney, Robert Murdock, stated.
The patient, who Murdock said in 2021 was in her 30s and was paralyzed due to a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, told police that Jean allegedly sexually assaulted her while he was bathing her, documents said. The patient has since died, Murdock said Friday, though a civil lawsuit was ongoing.
Jean pleaded guilty this summer by way of Alford, meaning he did not accept guilt but agreed prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. As part of the plea deal, Jean pleaded guilty by way of Alford to one charge of abuse of an older or vulnerable person. As part of the deal, Jean agreed to serve at least one year in prison.
On Thursday, Clark County District Court Judge Tara Clark Newberry sentenced Jean to 2-5 years in prison, documents said.
“I hope he stays in prison for the full five years,” Murdock said in a statement. “And I hope he suffers every day for the rest of his life as he made my client suffer every day for hers. Mr. Jean should never have been in a position to do what he did and wouldn’t have, but for the inaction of Transitional Care of Las Vegas and it’s absent owners. There was no institutional control and that allowed Mr. Jean to prey upon my client.”
According to the patient’s civil lawsuit filed against the facility and Jean, he was responsible for bathing the patient two or three times a week.
The lawsuit alleged during each bath, Jean sexually assaulted the patient, documents said. The alleged assaults happened from November 2020 until May 2021. Police arrested Jean at the end of May 2021.
Records from the Nevada Nursing Board showed Jean’s license expired in August 2021. He was previously reprimanded for “unprofessional conduct” and “for failing to collaborate with other members of the health care team” in 2016.
In an unrelated criminal case, Jean originally faced several felony charges of sex assault against a child, attempted sex assault against a child and lewdness with a child. Jean accepted guilt by way of Alford on a charge of burglary in the case, records showed.
According to police, a woman came forward saying Jean had sexually abused her when she was a child over the course of several years beginning in 2010, documents said. The charges indicate the woman was under the age of 14.
Jean has denied the allegations. Requests to Transitional Care of Las Vegas have never been returned.
Original News Source Link – KLAS
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