Ex-senior home administrators plead guilty in cover up of sex abuse at Southampton dementia unit
Two former administrators at an Upper Southampton senior care community have admitted that they failed to report sex abuse allegations involving residents with dementia, and instead covered it up.
Ashley Harker, 37, of Philadelphia, and Joy Alfonsi, 47, of Harleysville, entered identical guilty pleas Monday to three counts of felony endangering the welfare of a care dependent person at separate court appearances in Bucks County. They entered open guilty pleas meaning there is no negotiated sentence.
Records show history of problems at homeBucks County senior home had history of violations before administrator arrests, records show
They face a potential maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison for each count. Sentencing was deferred until March, according to the online court docket.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office brought the charges last year against Harker and Alfonsi, who worked at The Landing of Southampton, following a Bucks County Grand Jury investigation.
Harker and Alfonsi worked as the general manager and director of health and wellness respectively.
Investigators found Harker and Alfonsi ignored employee reports that an 88-year-old male resident with dementia had sexually assaulted a female resident with dementia one week after he was transferred into the center’s locked dementia care unit in July 2021.
After the first incident he allegedly sexually assaulted two more women, both diagnosed with dementia, within six days.
The AG's office said staff members reported the abuse to Harker and Alfonsi, and both of them assured the staff they would handle the situation. Staff members were instructed by the two to not document the incidents, according to officials.
The administrators also failed to notify the victims' families or designated representatives of the abuse, officials said.
Neither Harker nor Alfonsi reported the incidents, as the law mandates, to the state Department of Human Services, which oversees personal care homes, or the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging and law enforcement.
Ex-administrators charged with neglectUpper Southampton managers of memory care center charged with failing to report sexual abuse
The AG's office said because Harker and Alfonsi failed to report the first incident of abuse, the man, who was also suffering from dementia, was allowed to stay in the memory care unit with "insufficient safeguards," where he continued to abuse women.
Authorities opened an investigation after some employees, realizing that the incidents had not been handled properly, sent anonymous reports to protective services, according to charging documents.
Alfonsi and Harker were removed from their jobs in October, according to LeisureCare LLC, which owns The Landing at Southampton.
Ex-employees saw problems at senior homeEx-employees claim Bucks County personal care home officials ignored concerns
Pennsylvania licensing records show that inspectors found more than two dozen violations at the 109-bed facility starting shortly after it opened to residents in February 2020.
The Department of Human Services replaced the Landing's full operating license with a provisional one last April, which requires closer monitoring.
The agency issued a second provisional license in December as a result of continued violations found in inspections between August and November, according to online records. The new provisional license is valid until June 28, the deadline the agency has set for violations to be corrected.
More coverage of the Landings caseWhistleblower raised neglect concerns before arrests at Bucks County senior home: lawsuit
How to protect seniors in long-term careBucks County case highlights potential for abuse in senior care facilities. Here's how to protect loved ones
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-personal care home workers enter guilty pleas in sex abuse coverup
