By Stephen Stirling
A Corona man was convicted of sexually abusing a patient suffering from the late stages of Alzheimer’s at a Flushing nursing home while working as a porter in the building, the Queens district attorney said.
Juan Tavares−Nunez, 55, of 33−41 104th St. was convicted of first degree sexual abuse charges Friday for molesting a 64−year−old end−stage Alzheimer’s patient at Cliffside Nursing Home in 2007 following a one−week trial at Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, DA Richard Brown said.
The DA said Tavares−Nunez faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for March 5.
“The defendant stands convicted of committing a particularly heinous crime against one of our most vulnerable citizens. A nursing facility should always be viewed as a patient’s home away from home,” Brown said. “To force anyone to endure such a traumatic incident — especially one at such a fragile stage in their life — is beyond moral comprehension.”
Following the conviction, Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Kohm immediately revoked Tavares−Nunez’s $250,000 bail and ordered him remanded into custody, the DA said.
According to the charges, Tavares−Nunez — who had worked at Cliffside Nursing Home for nine years — entered the room of a patient who was completely dependent on others for daily activities and sexually molested her. The DA said Tavares−Nunez’s supervisor caught him and reported the incident. Tavares−Nunez was immediately terminated from his position and arrested a short time later.
Brown said the 55−year−old will be required to submit his DNA to the DNA Databank and register as a sex offender in New York state.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.
