Mentally disabled client sexually exploited

Administrators of the for-profit company paid to watch Edward through the state's Community Protection Program pride themselves on calling police if clients break the law "in any way," believing jail time can teach valuable lessons. After the March 2002 incident, Edward spent a month behind bars.

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What no one knew at the time was that Edward had every reason to lash out.

The previous year, a caregiver named Richard Moore had started supervising Edward, 23, and his four housemates during the night shift in an Arlington home run by Relationships Toward Self-Discovery. Edward, whose middle name is being used to protect his privacy, is a mildly retarded man with a history of physical and sexual aggression.

One evening, Moore disabled the alarm on Edward's bedroom and entered. Moore asked Edward if he had magazines with naked women. Edward pulled out a Playboy. Moore stripped and pointed to his penis. Edward obeyed.


	Moore

The abuse went on for months, with Moore demanding oral sex almost every night he worked, according to statements to police.

The abuse ended when Moore transferred to another house in the summer of 2002, supposedly because he was upset about co-workers allegedly stealing clients' money: "I can't sit there and watch somebody do that," he told a detective.

Only after Moore was gone did Edward confide in another caregiver about the abuse. Until then, he'd been too scared. Moore "threatened to kill" him, he told an investigator.

Another staff member at Edward's home admitted to police she'd found pornography in Moore's drawer nearly a month before Edward disclosed his abuse. She did not report it.

Moore couldn't understand what the fuss was about. "I did have consentual sexual contact with (Edward) after being aproched by him. I never forst my sexual presents on to (Edward)," Moore, 27, wrote in a police statement.

Moore's public defender tried to get the charges against Moore reduced, saying in a letter to the prosecutor the defendant is "pretty low functioning himself."

"There isn't a whole lot of difference intellectually between the victim and the defendant," wrote public defender Caroline Mann in April 2003. Besides, Moore "was never warned that the victim was sexually aggressive with staff."

RTS owner Laird Richmond said that Moore passed a background check and was fully trained. That would have included being told to read clients' files.

Moore pleaded guilty in July 2003 to two counts of indecent liberties and was sentenced to three years in prison. He didn't respond to an interview request.

Edward still lives in a Community Protection home run by RTS. In April, he spent nearly a month in jail after being charged with his sixth assault on a caregiver in as many years.

RTS officials finally asked for his release, both out of concern for Edward and because they'd lose his funding if he were there too long, said John Juhl, deputy prosecuting attorney with Snohomish County District Court. The state continues to pay companies when clients are temporarily absent.

Edward pleaded guilty to assault and is on probation. Moore got out of prison in July.