A Shoreview group home caregiver sexually assaulted a client who is developmentally delayed, according to charges filed Wednesday.
Lawrence N. Mokaya, 41, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of second-degree sexual conduct. He is accused of abusing a 24-year-old female resident who has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old.
According to the criminal complaint: A therapist at the group home was reading a children's book to the woman on Oct. 25 when a character in the book hugged his son.
The woman told the therapist that "Lawrence" hugged her. The therapist questioned the woman, who revealed that Mokaya entered her room at night, hugged her, kissed her on her mouth and body and sexually assaulted her.
The therapist contacted authorities, who responded to the group home that day.
The Ramsey County Sherif's Office, which investigated the crime, declined to identify the location or name of the group home, citing a Minnesota law that protects information authorities believe could be used to identify the victim of an alleged sexual assault.
Management of the group home told authorities that Mokaya had worked there since April 25, 2016. He worked from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. during the weekdays. He also worked some weekend night shifts.
The woman told an investigator at the Midwest Children's Resource Center that Mokaya assaulted her in her room, the laundry room, the basement and in other residents' rooms, the complaint said.
