KINGSTON -- Andrew Dula of Shickshinny, is a home care worker charged with sexual assault after co-workers suspected him of inappropriately touching a patient in her own home.
"They discovered some strange things had occurred,” said Luzerne County A.D.A. Nancy Violi.
Court papers show Dula admitted to Kingston Police that he started sexually assaulting his victim in November at a home for people with disabilities. The victim suffers from mental retardation and cerebral palsy, meaning she may have little to no control over many of her body movements, including speech. The assaults stopped in February after the victim was able to scream loud enough for another care worker to hear her.
"She's unable to communicate the way that you and I do, so that scream was her way of letting people know that there was something was happening that shouldn't be happening, so that was critical in this investigation,” Violi said.
Court papers show that care workers would see Dula spending a lot of time in the victim's room even though she had good hygiene, that he often replaced the victim's diaper, even when it was dry. The victim would often display unusual behavior, and appear anxious after Dula would leave.
The home is operated by the Institute for Human Resources and Services in Kingston. They told us they have no comment.
Dula's preliminary hearing is set for next month.
