Jeanette Larkin was devastated when she learned that her son was abused for years at a Hampden residential care home.
Her son was subjected to “grotesque and pervasive” abuse for at least three years at Lee Residential Care in Hampden, according to Penobscot County Superior Court records. One man pleaded guilty, and criminal charges are pending against three more.
“Nothing prepared me for the atrocities that were done to one of the most important people in my world,” Larkin told the Bangor Daily News.
It is the first time Larkin has spoken publicly about the abuse her son faced while living at Lee Residential Care, and it shows how the trauma he endured continues to haunt his family. Larkin’s son is non-verbal with severe intellectual disabilities and faced multiple types of abuse including waterboarding and sodomy, according to court records. The BDN does not name victims of non-fatal crimes without their permission.
Larkin suspected something was happening to her son but no one listened to her, according to her victim impact statement filed in court records. When an administrator learned about the abuse in March 2022, he conducted an investigation and reported his findings to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, court records said.
Larkin’s mental and physical health suffered drastically once she learned about the abuse, she told the BDN. In the two years since, things are slowly settling down in part because her husband has been her rock, she said.
During the time Larkin’s son was being abused he would harm himself and display aggressive behavior toward other people. But once the abuse stopped, most of those behaviors stopped too, she said.
“He is strong and resilient,” Larkin said. “I don’t know how or why, but I am so grateful.”
Zachary Conners, 26, pleaded guilty to one felony count of intentionally endangering the welfare of a dependent person on Aug. 30. Rene Dubois III, 47, of Prospect, and Michael Slater, 49, of Palmyra, are charged with three and four counts, respectively, of intentionally endangering the welfare of a dependent person. Joshua Martin, 43, of Winterport, is charged with one count each of endangering the welfare of a dependent person and assault.
On the day Conners pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to five years in prison with all but 2 ½ years suspended. There was a “small sense of relief and justice” for Larkin and her husband when Conners was sentenced, but the 2 ½ years he will serve isn’t even as long as her son’s abuse.
The cases against Dubois, Martin and Slater are still pending in Penobscot County.
“We are one quarter way done with this mess,” Larkin said. “At the end of it, I will be able to tell our son that they went to jail. I am looking forward to that day.”
It’s important for people to be aware this abuse can happen, even when you show up and visit your loved one often, Larkin said.
“Get to know your loved one’s caregivers,” she said. “I did this and still my son was abused. I am still struggling with the guilt that I couldn’t save him.”
