Nurse let friend into care home to rape 90-year-old dementia patient 'for sexual experience'
Prosecution said the crime was "against one of the most vulnerable victims in our society".
A 24-year-old man from Illinois has been sentence to 30 years in prison after sexually assaulting a 90-year-old woman with dementia in a care home.
Dontrell Netter faced a sentencing hearing on Thursday (18 January) after he was convicted of sexual assault in December. The judge ruled he must spend at least the next 25 years in prison. Netter was able to enter the facility thanks to help from a staff member.
Channing Butler, a 28-year-old nurse at the Bickmoor Care Center in Illinois, is serving a 14-year sentence for inviting three different men to rape women. Butler would let them in through the back door on night shifts whenever he was the sole caretaker working.
According to News Gazette, Netter's attorney Michael McClellan said his client only committed the acts to gain sexual experience. McClellan argued that Butler had told Netter that the woman was 50, not 90. "All that Dontrell knows at that moment is he's got a chance to get more sexual experience," McClellan said. "That is a desire that has led many young men to do things that in the calm light of day they would never contemplate doing."
Netter was not successful in raping the woman but still managed to commit serious sexual assault. Prosecution attorney Matt Banach labelled the crime as "calculated and despicable" and "against one of the most vulnerable victims in our society". Judge Tom Difanis took a shot at Butler during the sentencing. "Hopefully there's a special place in hell for people like Channing Butler."
It was revealed in court that Netter had been raised by his grandparents since he was two years old. Both spoke in court in hopes it would shorten his sentence.
Netter said he believed the jury had "got it wrong" in their decision. "I'm sorry that I let myself fall victim to being led astray by Mr Butler," Netter said.
The two other men let into the property were 23-year-old Dean Goble and 20-year-old Trent Warren, who both admitted to aggravated criminal sexual assault. Goble was sentenced to 14 years and Warren was given 10 years in jail.
