INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 25-year-old nursing home employee who deputies said had inappropriate contact – including a sexual act – with a disabled patient on three different occasions, was detained Monday.
Christopher Alan Lacau
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Deputies said Christopher Alan Lacau, described as a certified nursing assistant, touched the woman in a sexual manner. The woman, a resident at the assisted living facility, is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, reports show.
Deputies arrested Lacau, of the 500 block of 13th Place, Vero Beach, on three counts of lewd lascivious act on elderly or disabled. Lacau was held Wednesday at the Indian River County Jail on $300,000 bond.
Indian River County deputies responded to reports of sexual abuse about 8 p.m. Dec. 23 at the unnamed facility. The woman, whose age was not listed, told deputies Lacau fondled her breasts and forced her to engage in oral sex, reports show.
The acts took place in the woman’s room at the nursing home, deputies said. The woman said she was afraid to report the incidents because she thought Lacau might hurt her, officials said.
Lacau, who is 6-feet 2-inches tall and weighs 350 pounds, told deputies the acts were consensual, reports show. Lacau said he knew what he did was wrong because he was the woman’s caretaker, deputies said.
The woman told deputies she never consented to sexual activity with Lacau, deputies said.
Nursing staff told deputies Lacau was suspended per policy procedure, reports show. The staff said there have been no previous complaints against Lacau, who has worked at the facility since Feb. 2019.
The staff told deputies it is common for certified nursing assistants to be in rooms alone with patients for privacy reasons.
Deputies arrested Lacau and took him to the county jail. Lacau has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. March 6, 2020, court records show.
