94-year-old sexually assaulted at assisted living home, family says

Photo: Christina R. Matacotta / AJC

By Brad Schrade

The family of a 94-year-old widow on Tuesday offered a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of an unknown man who they say sexually assaulted her at a Clayton County assisted living facility.

Curliene Golden died just weeks after the Sept. 5, 2018, episode that sent police to Governor’s Glen Memory Care and Assisted Living in Forest Park.

Her family says she was found that morning complaining of pain to her vaginal and buttocks areas and told the staff that she had been assaulted.

The Golden family alleges that the home didn’t handle the case properly, according to Terance Madden, an attorney who represents them. The family said police were not called for five hours, and the delay hurt the gathering of crucial evidence.

“Absolutely the way they handled this was incompetent,” Madden said Tuesday during a news conference.

For their part, Governor’s Glen officials say they did nothing wrong. They point to a review by the Department of Community Health that found no violations by the facility. A Sept. 11, 2018, report says the department investigated a complaint and found no rule violations, but it doesn’t state the nature of the complaint.

Governor’s Glen officials don’t believe that Golden was the victim of a sexual assault.

“We believe nothing happened,” said Dennis Stamey, an operating partner with Canopy Lifestyles, which operates Governor’s Glen and five other facilities in Georgia.

He also denied that the facility delayed notifying police, but he did not provide a specific time they were called.

A Forest Park police report says the incident was reported at 2:16 p.m.

The day of the incident, Golden told nursing staff she had been inappropriately touched by an unknown man the night before, according to police. She said this around 9:30 a.m., according to Madden.

A Forest Park police investigation remains open but inactive. Investigators say they didn’t have enough evidence to identify a suspect and pursue the case further.

“After an investigation, which included gathering evidence from the victim, taking witness statements from employees, and sending off evidence to be analyzed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, no suspect was developed,” according to a statement issued by Forest Park police.

The statement says if additional evidence surfaces, such as a “DNA profile, new witnesses or new information,” the case can be reopened. Police ask anyone with info to call 404-366-4141.

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94-year-old sexually assaulted at assisted living home, family says