A residential care worker in Maine has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a series of brutal assaults on a disabled resident at the Lee Residential Care center in Hampden.
Charges and Sentencing
Zachery Conners, 26, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on August 30 after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a dependent person. The assaults, which occurred over a three-year period, were described by prosecutors as “grotesque and pervasive” acts of abuse. Conners was one of four employees accused of abusing a nonverbal adult male client.
Details of the Abuse
According to court documents, the abuse involved waterboarding, choking, and other forms of physical and sexual violence. Prosecutors stated that Conners choked the victim until he lost consciousness and participated in waterboarding, where the victim’s face was covered with cloth while water was sprayed on him to simulate drowning. The victim was also subjected to genital punching, beatings with a large spoon, sexual violation with objects, and was coerced into a sex act with another resident.
Assistant Attorney General Patricia Poulin condemned the abuse, stating, “The defendant was paid to protect these vulnerable citizens. He did the exact opposite.”
State Response and License Revocation
Lee Residential Services lost its state license in 2022 following investigations that were sparked by reports of staff misconduct, including an incident where a staff member brought a weapon to work. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) became involved after receiving reports of abuse in March 2022.
Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for DHHS, expressed the department’s deep concern over the findings: “The department fully supported and cooperated with the investigation and is deeply disturbed by the information law enforcement uncovered.”
Ongoing Legal Proceedings for Other Workers
Three other former employees of the Lee Residential Care center are facing similar charges and are awaiting trial. They are accused of participating in the abuse and using their positions of authority to commit acts of torture against the victim.
