Published: September 06, 2007 09:14 am      

Nursing home resident assaulted

BEREA — A Berea man was arrested Monday on charges that he sexually assaulted a woman in a local nursing home.

About 2:17 a.m., Matthew Bryant, 25, of Old Walleceton Road, allegedly entered the Berea Health Care Center on Richmond Road in Berea. Police still aren’t sure how Bryant gained access to the building at that time of the morning, said BPD Capt. Ken Clark, public affairs officer for the department.

“Basically what happened is that the employees of the nursing home heard a patient scream,” Clark said. “When they went to where the patient screamed, they observed a white male run out of the room and run out a door.”

The police department had received a call about an hour and a half earlier about a man matching Bryant’s description “peeping in windows” at another nursing home, Clark said.

“Somebody there identified the man as Bryant,” he said. “A supervisor did a photo line up and took it back to the nursing home and they identified Bryant in that.”

Clark was unable to say if Bryant knew his alleged victim or if the 90-year-old nursing home resident was randomly selected. The resident was asleep at the time of the assault.

“I don’t think there were any physical injuries,” Clark said. “It was more of a fondling type thing.”

Bryant was arrested about 4:30 a.m. at his home and charged with first-degree sexual abuse. He was lodged in the Madison County Detention Center and released Wednesday on 10 percent of a $10,000 bond.

In other news, Berea police retrieved a stolen truck full of cleaning supplies using OnStar technology, Clark said.

On Aug. 30, an independent contractor selling cleaning supplies was staying overnight at the Holiday Motel on Jane Street with a new employee, Dustin W. Raines, Clark said. Sometime between 1 and 2 a.m., Raines allegedly woke up the contractor telling him he needed to get his wallet out of the man’s 2007 GMC Sierra truck. The victim gave Raines the keys and went back to sleep, Clark said.

“When he got back up later that morning, the truck and Mr. Raines was gone,” Clark said. “We then contacted OnStar and located the truck in Indianapolis. And the Indianapolis Police Department evidently took him right out of the truck.”

Raines was arrested and charged with theft by unlawful taking of an automobile valued at more than $300. Raines’ age and address were unavailable. The truck and about cleaning supplies in the vehicle were valued at $31,450, and police were able to recover the vehicle and about two-thirds of the merchandise, Clark said.

Using OnStar to locate a stolen vehicle was a first for Berea Police, Clark said.

“I know we’ve had people’s doors unlocked and things like that, but as far as tracking a vehicle, this was the first time. It’s just as good if not better as Lo-Jack (a service similar to OnStar that was marketed several years ago). It worked like a charm. I wish they were all that easy.”

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.