Guy Negoue, 44, faces charges for sexually assaulting an elderly victim at a nursing home care in Manhattan. Negoue, an X-ray technician, was arrested soon after cops were alerted of the untoward incident that happened at ArchCare at Terence Cardinal Cooke Harlem Health Care Center on Fifth Ave. near E. 106th St., across from Central Park in East Harlem, court records show. He was also indicted by a grand jury.
The victim, aged 81, was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and was with her nurse just before the assault happened, reports New York Daily News. Negoue allegedly carried out the assault on the pretext of doing an X-ray as part of health checks. “How despicable do you have to be that you would do that to someone who is mentally incapacitated?” asked her son, Rodney Vargas, 52, as he spoke to the media.
“I think that’s the lowest thing that I ever heard,” he added.
Things began to turn awry after Negoue requested the nurse to leave the room as he worked. But shortly after she left, the nurse heard the wails of the woman. She was aghast by what she saw as she barged inside—Negoue was reportedly leaning over the woman. He wiped his hands on the bedsheets and threw the gloves into the trash can, suggest court papers.
Despite the arrest, Negoue stood by his stance that he was innocent. “I didn’t do anything on purpose. I realized a lubricant was on my hand which is why I wiped it on the bed,” Negoue allegedly blurted to the nurse, as cited on Daily Mail. The victim has two kids—Vargas and his sister. She’s been married for 62 years.
Negoue faces multiple charges such as endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, which carries a four-year prison term, aside from a misdemeanor sex abuse charge. Reports suggest that Negoue was produced before the court on Wednesday for a procedural hearing. He remains free as of now on his own recognizance.
ArchCare spokesman Jon Goldberg lauded the nurse’s proactiveness in the face of adversity. “She not only intervened and tended to the resident, but alerted security so he [Negoue] was apprehended in the building,” said Goldberg. “And she had the presence of mind to preserve evidence,” he added.
Negoue fondly recalls his mom being a hands-on parent who enjoyed myriad creative interests before the illness hit her. “She was a great mom,” Vargas said, adding, “She made costumes for us that she would sew, and she would bake cakes and she took care of my nieces. Her favorite time of the year was Christmas.”
