Video: Nursing home caregiver accused of rape

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SEATTLE - King County prosecutors say they may seek an exceptional sentence against a caregiver accused of raping a disabled woman at a Kent nursing home.

"It makes you angry," says Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan.

The 31-year-old Kent man, Joseph Thurura, was arrested Wednesday and charged Tuesday with second-degree rape.

Prosecutors say he worked at Integrated Living Services of Kent where he cared for the 44-year-old woman who is blind and has a disorder that left her with the mental development of an 11-month-old.

The rape was discovered after she had a miscarriage. DNA testing identified the caregiver Thurura. He denied being responsible.

"It's one of those crimes that is really reprehensible when you think about a person who is non-verbal, legally blind who cannot care for herself and has to trust others," said Strachan.

Police believe the crime happened at a unit where the woman lived in a Kent Apartment complex. Thurura was part of a team which provided 24 hour medical care to the woman and her mentally and physically disabled roommates.

No one at his employer was able to speak about the allegations Tuesday, but Chief Strachan says the company acted appropriately and did everything it could.

"We entrust caregivers for dependant adults with tremendous responsibility for the health and well-being of the patient," King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said in a press release, "and most long-term care workers treat their patients with dignity and respect."

"The level of abuse of this very vulnerable victim, as alleged in this case, is appalling and it is a crime that deserves a long prison sentence," he added.

Thurura will be arraigned July 2 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. If convicted he faces a standard sentence of 6 to 8 years in prison.