Upper Southampton managers of memory care center charged with failing to report sexual abuse

Two former managers of an Upper Southampton home care facility are charged with failing to report that three female residents suffering from dementia had been sexually abused by a male resident, the Attorney General's Office announced Thursday.

General manager of The Landing of Southampton, Ashley Marie Harker, 37, and Director of Health and Wellness Joy Alfonsi, 47, are accused of failing to report the abuse, which happened in July, according to a news release from the AG's office.

Harker, of Philadelphia, and Alfonsi, of Souderton, are charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a care dependent person and one count of conspiracy to commit that offense, as well as misdemeanors of recklessly endangering another person and failure to report abuse.

The charges were filed Thursday following a grand jury investigation.

Michael Juno, operations director for The Landing, which is part of Washington-based Leisure Care, said both Harker and Alfonsi are no longer employed there, and have not been since last year. He said the facility is cooperating with the state.

"Leisure Care remains committed to holding our community to the highest standards of safe, quality care. The trust of our residents, their families and our staff is of vital importance to us, which is why we took immediate action to conduct a thorough investigation and transition to a new management team in October 2021. We continue to work in close coordination with state and local authorities, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Health, to ensure all of our residents continue to experience the exceptional care they deserve and expect," he said in a statement.

The Landing of Southampton, located at 1160 Street Road, is a senior living facility with independent living, personal care and memory care facilities, according to its website.

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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.

Neither Harker nor Alfonsi reported the incidents to the state Department of Human Services, which is required by law, the release states.

Court documents state an 88-year-old man, who recently had been transferred to the memory care unit, abused three victims, two of whom were 75, and the other was 57. All four of them suffered from dementia.

The memory care unit is meant to care for residents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

On July 22, staff members witnessed the man abuse one of the victims during an activity. A staff member separated the two, and the man went back to the victim and sexually abused her again, according to court documents.

A staff member told Alfonsi within minutes, the AG's office said. The employee said the incident needed to be reported to the state, however Alfonsi instructed her not to write anything about the incident, charging documents allege.

That same staff member reported it to Harker, who told that employee that she and Alfonsi would take care of it, Upper Southampton police said. That staff member documented the incident for their own records.

On July 24, the man was seen sexually abusing another victim in the common area of the unit, charging documents state. An employee stopped the abuse, police said.

Alfonsi told an employee who witnessed the incident she did not have to write a statement about it, officials said. Alfonsi did write a report on the incident, but omitted key information, such as saying no one witnessed the incident, and the identity of the man who committed the offense, according to authorities.

The "investigation" part of the report treated the incident as a fall instead of sexual abuse, court documents allege.

On July 26, the man was seen sexually abusing a third woman in the dining area of the unit, police said. Staff members were able to separate the two.

Staff members told Harker and Alfonsi about the incidents, however they told employees they would handle it, court documents allege. The two never reported the incident, according to authorities.

Some staff members, realizing that the incidents had not been handled properly, sent anonymous reports of the incidents to protective services, according to charging documents. Additionally, they did not inform the victims' families or designated representatives of the abuse, officials said.

In August, investigators began looking into The Landing. An investigator testified to the grand jury that Alfonsi and Harker insisted the complaints must have come from "disgruntled employees," and there was no reason for concern, police said.

That investigator testified that employees did not feel comfortable talking to them at work, and would instead talk to them after work, charging documents state.

The Landing was cited by the state Department of Human Services in April, according to court documents. On April 12, the DHS revoked The Landing's certificate of compliance. The Landing was given a provisional license until October, according to state records.

The Landing must correct the violations or risk losing its provisional license, police said. The citations include abuse, failing to report abuse, failing to notify a resident's designated person of suspected abuse and denying DHS access to resident records, according to authorities.

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 female residents.

“The defendants were responsible for the safety and well-being of the residents in their care. But instead of protecting their residents, they sought to cover up incidents of sexual abuse of residents that occurred under their watch. Had they followed through on the mandated reporting required by law, these assaults would have been prevented. My office will do all we can to ensure they are held responsible for their neglect,” AG Josh Shapiro said in the release.

Alfonsi and Harker separated employment from The Landing in October, when relevant conduct was discovered, according to Juno.

He said the facility continues to work closely with state agencies to ensure its processes, policies and best practices exceed those required by compliance standards.

"We remain confident our plan for continuous improvement will serve our community well so that our residents and staff may continue to enjoy a wonderful place to live, to work and to visit for many years to come," he said.

Harker and Alfonsi remain free on $75,000 unsecured bail. They did not have attorneys listed for them Thursday.

Their preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 30.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Landing of Southampton officials charged with not reporting sex abuse