A nonverbal, developmentally disabled woman was raped under the supervision of a state-run group home, the sister of the alleged victim claims — and officials did nothing to address the alleged abuse, she told the Daily News.
The disabled woman — who cannot legally consent to sex — was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease in 2004 while under the care of Union Avenue IRA, according to a Manhattan federal lawsuit that will be filed Monday.
“What went through my head was that my sister was raped by somebody,” said L.K., the alleged victim’s sister, adding that the 47-year-old woman still endures physical abuse at the Bronx residence where she has lived since the early 1990s.
“If you knew my sister and just looked at her, you’d say, ‘How could somebody do this to her? How could anybody do this to her, because she couldn’t say no?’ “
State officials at the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, which runs the home, told L.K. her sister contracted the STD at sleep-away summer camp “most likely from a foreign exchange student who had already left the jurisdiction,” the suit says.
According to L.K., a prosecutor in the Bronx district attorney’s office, who no longer works there, said legal action was impossible because the students were long gone.
L.K.’s allegations are one of many against the group home in the forthcoming lawsuit.
Two more legal guardians of residents said callous workers have treated their loved ones far worse than captive animals, routinely beating them bloody and denying them food, the suit alleges.
Families and at least one whistleblower repeatedly complained about physical abuse.
A whistleblower also said in letters to several residents’ guardians that a staffer “was sexually abusing residents.”
State officials conducted investigations of this “sadistic house of horrors,” as some guardians have described it — and substantiated many allegations, according to the suit.
“It’s an absolutely appalling, horrific case,” said the guardians’ lawyer, Ilann M. Maazel of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP.
“I think Gov. Cuomo would be absolutely shocked if he knew about what happens in the state-run facility. It’s intolerable that anyone can treat anyone with a disability like this.”
Asked about the allegations, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities said it can’t comment directly on a matter under litigation, but the office “works closely with the Justice Center and law enforcement to ensure that employees who are accused of criminal conduct against individuals with developmental disabilities are thoroughly investigated and brought to justice if found guilty.”
Most of the 15 named defendants could not be reached for comment.
One ex-staffer vehemently denied the allegations and threatened to sue her accusers for defamation. Another defendant, who said she still works at Union Avenue IRA, declined to comment.
Cuomo’s office did not reply to requests for comment.
