Texas Nursing Homes Being Sued for Negligence in Sexual Misconduct Case

By Daniel Hawn

Published on December 27, 2006

The suit was filed last week in Smith County by the victim’s mother.

D'Juana Dunn filed the suit against Camelot Nursing Home, Clairmont Nursing Home, Colonial Tyler Care Center, and Pinecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and is seeking an unspecified amount of damages on behalf of her daughter, who died earlier this month.

While a resident at Pinecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Home in 2001, 21-year-old Jennifer Dunn was raped by nursing assistant Thomas Drake Wheeler Jr., according to the suit. Wheeler was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The suit contends that Wheeler raped two women and molested seven others while employed by the four nursing homes over a 37-month period. According to Blake Bailey, Dunn’s attorney, the nursing homes should be held negligent for failing to conduct an employee background check prior to hiring Wheeler in addition to failing to report Wheeler’s sexual misconduct to appropriate agencies and prospective employers.

Operators of Pinecrest declined to comment, some claiming that they were unaware of the suit.

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