A 72-year-old man has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing two older men living in separate aged care homes in the Hinchinbrook area of Nothern Queensland earlier this week.
The accused, who has not yet been named, is alleged to have forged predatory friendships with the two elderly gentlemen which resulted in crimes that occurred between New Years Day 2018 and Valentine’s Day this year.
It is understood that the attacker was not an employee of either nursing home, but he was known to the two elderly victims prior to the alleged offending.
The accused man was arrested in his home on Tuesday morning and charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of serious assault of a person aged over 60.
Ingham Police investigators refused to reveal any further details to HelloCare, stating that this matter had not yet gone before the courts, and they were unable to comment.
Both the names of the victims and the names of the nursing homes where these crimes are alleged to have been committed have not yet been released, but one of the homes did give a statement in the Townsville Bulletin.
“As this matter is currently the subject of a police investigation, and in the interest of resident privacy, it would be inappropriate for us to comment,” a spokesman for one of the rest homes said in a statement.
The accused man was released on bail and has been banned from visiting both nursing homes where the alleged crimes are said to have taken place.
He will appear in the Ingham Magistrates Court on March 19.
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