SAN DIEGO — A Hillcrest nursing home is facing a lawsuit over the rape of an elderly woman in its care. The 88-year-old was assaulted at Balboa Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in October and a parolee has been charged with the crime.
The lawsuit was filed under the alias Jane Doe to protect the victim’s identity. The suit names the nursing home and its parent company Providence Group, Inc. as defendants. It seeks $50 million in damages for the defendants’ failure to protect the woman from the attack.
“[The defendants] were directly responsible for providing for the welfare and safety of their resident plaintiff [Jane Doe],” the suit reads in part.
It goes on to say that someone at the nursing home failed to secure the premises on the night of Oct. 26 and that a back door was left open into the morning of Oct. 27. The suit alleges that the assailant was able to gain access through the unlocked door and make his way to the second floor unnoticed by on-duty staff.
The suit claims that the rapist would not have been able to enter the facility except for the “utterly negligent, reckless, and willful failures” by the nursing home to secure the premises.
Attorney William Berman is representing the victim and said they want to hold the facility accountable for allowing the sexual assault to happen.
"This individual was able to make his way into the facility ... make his way to the second floor - again unnoticed by staff - down the hallway into my client's room," Berman said.
A parolee Lusean Arline was arrested on Nov. 4 and charged for the crime. He had been released from jail on an unrelated drug charge two days before the sexual assault. In November, Arline plead not guilty to rape, elder abuse and other felony charges related to the crime. The victim suffered a broken arm in the attack, according to the lawsuit.
According to the San Diego Police Department, the victim was in bed around 3 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2019 when Arline illegally entered the nursing home and then sexually assaulted the woman in her room.
"I think that the staff that was on duty at the time weren't paying attention to the needs of the resident," Berman said.
Staff heard the victim and her roommates screaming and entered the room, prompting Arline to run away, according to prosecutors.
"The suspect was completely naked and the victim had been disrobed as well," said Scott Pirrello, Deputy District Attorney Head of Elder Abuse Prosecutions.
Arline was identified as the suspect through "evidence left at the scene'' that was submitted to the FBI Combined DNA Index System. Police then tracked down Arline with help from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, SDPD Lt. Carole Beason said.
Prosecutors have said Arline is homeless and did not know the victim. Pirrello said Arline has a prior conviction from 2017 for following two elderly women home to their apartment and exposing himself to the victims.
Arline faces life in prison if convicted. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail and last appeared in court on Dec. 16 for a preliminary hearing.
The complaint alleges the back door was routinely left unlocked after hours and that the nursing home lacked sufficient night staff and security to protect its residents.
Lawyers for the victim said in part: “Balboa Skilled Nursing Center has been cited by the California Department of Public Health for failing to maintain safe premises and protect its elderly residents.”
A spokesperson for the facility said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
Shortly after the attack, the victim was moved to a different facility owned by a different company.
"The very reason you put somebody in a nursing home is so that their needs are met and that they're in a safe and secure facility," Berman said.
An administrator from Balboa Nursing and Rehab issued the following statement following Arline’s arrest:
“We are grateful authorities have apprehended a suspect who entered our community illegally and assaulted one of our residents. Our thoughts remain with the resident and the resident’s family, and we will continue to cooperate fully with officials as they investigate and seek justice for this individual. We will continue to stay in close contact with the resident and the resident’s family and provide support and help in any way. We are committed to doing whatever necessary to help ensure the safety of residents, families, staff and visitors to our community at all times. Out of respect for the resident and the resident’s family, as well as the authorities’ investigative process, additional comment at this time would be inappropriate.”
The full lawsuit can be seen below.