A family is suing a Hampden care home after their adult son was subjected to “repeated and severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse.”
Jeanette and Jonathan Larkin, as parents and guardians of an adult, non-verbal man with severe intellectual disabilities, sued Lee Residential Care for allegedly turning a blind eye to the abuse their son suffered for roughly seven years, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Penobscot County Superior Court.
The lawsuit alleges nine counts, including negligence, fraudulent concealment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent supervision, training and retention. The family is asking for compensatory damages for emotional distress, lost enjoyment of life, emotional distress, previous and future medical expenses and more.
This is the second lawsuit the Hampden care home is facing in the months after the Bangor Daily News detailed the “grotesque and pervasive” abuse two men suffered. Two employees spent years “physically and emotionally torturing” the Larkins’ son and have pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Cases against two other employees are still pending.
Lawyers for Lee Residential did not respond to a request for comment.
The man, identified as J.L. in the lawsuit, lived at a Lee Residential home from August 2015 to December 2024. He was subjected to repeated abuse from 2015 to January 2022, the lawsuit said.
One form of abuse included strangling J.L. until he passed out, while another included employees who encouraged him to engage in acts of “self-sodomy using household objects, including a spray can and a television remote,” the lawsuit said.
Criminal court records show employees would encourage residents to engage in sexual acts with each other with the promise of pizza after, which they did not get.
The owners of Lee Residential knew about the sexual assault in 2018 but did not report it to Adult Protective Services or the Maine Deparmtent of Health and Human Services, according to the lawsuit. J.L.’s roommate was not removed from the room for at least nine months, it added.
In early 2021, staff accused each other of physically abusing J.L., at which point the Lee CEO held a private meeting with the involved staff members. No one was fired and no reports were made to Adult Protective Services or the man’s parents, according to the lawsuit.
“Lee Residential made the decision to retrain employees involved in incidents of abuse or neglect — conduct that would have previously led to their termination — allowing those offenders to remain in the home and putting J.L. at continued risk of abuse and neglect,” the lawsuit said.
Jeanette Larkin emailed the CEO in May 2021 with concerns about “suspicious black eyes, facial and arm injuries” she saw on her son. The CEO responded with a 30-day discharge notice saying the facility was done caring for the man, instead of investigating the issue, the lawsuit said.
Care like the man needs is scarce so the family kept him at Lee, the lawsuit said.
The Larkins didn’t learn the full extent of the abuse until fall 2024. Jeanette Larkin previously told the BDN she was unprepared to learn about all the atrocities her son experienced.
Lee Residential “actively concealed multiple reports of staff abuse and neglect” from the family, according to the lawsuit. The man’s parents were told a small amount and “provided misleading facts that obscured staff wrongdoing.”
