An intruder entered the Crestview Specialty Care nursing home in West Branch on April 5, 2023, and was later found partially undressed and in bed with a female resident of the home. (Photo via Google Earth)
An Iowa nursing home is being sued over an incident in which an intruder was able to enter the home, undress and climb into bed with a resident.
The family of the late Ruth Bartow is suing Crestview Specialty Care of West Branch and the home’s owners, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, in Cedar County District Court.
The lawsuit alleges that Bartow was admitted to Crestview in February 2023 with severe cognitive impairments, and that three months later, at 2:50 p.m. on April 5, the staff found an unauthorized male “visitor” in her room, 54-year-old Michael Beaver of West Branch.
Beaver was laying with Bartow in her bed “without any clothes on,” the lawsuit alleges.
The Crestview staff escorted Beaver out of Bartow’s room to the front lobby and notified the police. Bartow was later found in her room crying, according to the lawsuit.
State inspectors later concluded Beaver had been seen walking around in the facility as early as 10:30 a.m. that day. At 11:10 a.m., and at 1 p.m., staffers noticed Beaver pushing Bartow in her wheelchair throughout the building but failed to intervene.
The lawsuit accuses Crestview and Care Initiatives of gross negligence and recklessness in the form of inadequate staffing, false advertising, and “inappropriately allocating excessive funds to itself, thereby draining the facility of the resources necessary to maintain sufficient and appropriately trained staff to supervise residents and prevent avoidable injuries.”
The lawsuit also seeks unspecified actual damages and punitive damages for breach of contract and dependent adult abuse.
Crestview and Care Initiatives have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
According to West Branch police, Beaver wasn’t criminally charged for his role in the incident as there was already an order to pick him up in connection with a civil commitment proceeding. Police said there was “no direct evidence” Bartow was sexually assaulted.
Court records show that two days before the incident at Crestview, Beaver was arrested and charged with indecent exposure at the Iowa City Public Library. According to the arrest report, video evidence showed Beaver entering the library, going to the computers on the second floor, taking off his sweatshirt and pants, placing a jacket over his genitals, and then spending four hours watching pornographic videos while reaching under his jacket and stimulating himself.
The day after he was arrested, he was released from jail on his own recognizance. District Associate Judge Jason A. Burns released Beaver on the condition that he not return to the library.
On May 24, 2023, the library staff called police to report Beaver was sitting on a bench outside of the library watching pornographic material on a mobile phone and masturbating in clear view of library patrons.
Beaver ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts indecent exposure and three remaining counts were dismissed. He was sentenced to two years in prison.