Vanderheyden worker accused of sexually abusing client
ALBANY, N.Y. >> A direct care aide at Vanderheyden Hall is accused of sexually abusing a specialneeds resident in his care.
The New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs said Justin Hope, 32, of Guilderland, signed the victim out of the residential facility in Wynantskill without authorization in August 2016 and brought the victim to his apartment and a local sporting event. Hope is then accused of providing the victim with alcohol and marijuana and engaging in sexual conduct.
The Justice Center said in a news release the incident came to light when Hope and the victim were seen drinking in public and reported the incident to Vanderheyden Hall. Under the law, sexual contact of any kind between an employee and a resident of a facility certified by the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities is criminal when the employee knows or has reason to know the resident is receiving services at that facility.
“For an employee to abuse their authority, as this defendant is alleged to have done, subjecting a resident to sexual abuse is a criminal act that can interfere with the very treatment Vanderheyden is providing,” said Patricia Gunning, a special prosecutor for the Justice Center. “Vanderheyden Hall provides services to youth and young adult residents with a variety of disabilities and diagnoses, and many residents have suffered significant trauma in their lives.”
Hope was charged with two counts each of felony third-degree criminal sexual abuse and misdemeanor second-degree sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, as well as a single felony count of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.
Hope was arraigned in Albany County Court and sent to the Albany County jail. He resigned his position at Vanderheyden, according to the Justice Center.
The case was investigated with assistance of the Albany Police Department, with its prosecution supported by the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.