A caregiver charged with sexual battery of a disabled woman at a group home was fired from his job when he was arrested last week, the organization said.
The nonprofit organization Indiana Mentor, which provides services for adults with disabilities, launched an internal investigation per state guidelines, but did not report the allegations to police for weeks, according to a Franklin Police Department report.
Theodore Dennis Kasting, 65, of Bargersville, was arrested on charges of sexual battery and neglect of a dependent after the woman he had cared for for four years told police about three incidents that happened in June and July. The incidents took place in a Trafalgar group home where she lives and Kasting worked as an employee of Indiana Mentor.
The woman, who has cognitive disabilities, told an employee of Indiana Mentor on Aug. 14 that Kasting had touched her inappropriately. The organization conducted an internal investigation and called Franklin police on Aug. 30, the police report said.
Indiana Mentor suspended Kasting during the internal investigation, and fired him at the time of his arrest, according to a statement from the organization.
“We take our obligation to do all we can to ensure the safety and well-being of those we are privileged to serve very seriously. We are always profoundly saddened that anyone could cause harm to an individual with disabilities,” Indiana Mentor said in the statement.
The Trafalgar home where the victim lives and the incidents took place, 38 Ryan Drive, is the only group home Kasting worked in, said Knute Rotto, Indiana Mentor’s executive director. Kasting had worked with the victim in that home for four years, Rotto said.
Kasting told police Sept. 13 he was aware of the three incidents, and called them abuse, according to the report. He told the investigator that he knew his actions were wrong, he regretted it and was sorry and embarrassed, the report said. He was arrested that day on two Level 6 felonies.
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office received the investigative report from the police department on Friday, Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said. The prosecutor will decide what, if any, charges to file.
Indiana Mentor has multiple offices around the state, including a local office in Franklin, and employees of the agency work in local group homes helping residents with cooking, housekeeping and hygiene tasks, according to the organization’s website.
The group home is licensed by the Family and Social Services Administration’s Bureau of Developmental Disabilities and certified by the Indiana State Department of Health, said Marni Lemons, a spokesperson for the Family and Social Services Administration. The home, which received an updated license in December, serves adults ages 26 to 82 and has eight certified beds.
The Bureau of Developmental Disabilities, which has oversight of group homes around the state, must file a report with the Bureau of Quality Improvement Services within 24 hours of a reported incident of sexual abuse, including non-consensual sexual activity, sexual molestation, sexual coercion or sexual exploitation, according to its policy manual. If the individual reporting the incident is in danger, the person making the discovery should call 911, but the policy does not outline a time frame for contacting police.
An incident report was filed on Aug. 19, Lemons said, five days after the victim initially reported it.
The state department of health will review that report to determine whether to complete a complaint survey, or inspection, of the group home, she said.
“The late filing would be addressed as part of our review of the incident. It may also be addressed as part of (the department of health’s) oversight, either through their annual survey or if they open a complaint survey on this matter,” Lemons said in a written response to questions.
The victim is an upper-middle-aged woman who is independent in comparison to other residents, but functions at a much lower level than her age represents, Franklin police said.
The victim told police that Kasting would touch her in the back of the group home, near her bedroom, likely because it was more secluded in that area, according to the investigation conducted by Detective Sgt. Justin Stall.
She told police that Kasting made her feel uncomfortable, scared and embarrassed, which is why she waited before telling anyone, the report said. Kasting would often hug her or sit on her lap, and that she would ask him to please stop or try to avoid him, the report said.
