News Release
9/17/2025
(JEFFERSON, Ohio) — A former caregiver at a Conneaut retirement
community has been sentenced to 8-12 years in prison for raping elderly
residents, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.
“This was a horrific case of elder abuse at the hands of a predator
masquerading as a protector,” Yost said. “My deepest thanks to the
investigators and prosecutors who fought for the victims and brought
this abuser to justice.”
Wayde Shankle, 36, of Ashtabula, pleaded guilty today in Ashtabula
County Common Pleas Court to two first-degree felony counts of rape and
was sentenced to prison immediately afterward. Upon release, he will be
required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of his
life.
A grand jury indicted Shankle in July after an investigation found he
raped two residents of Villa at the Lake, a residential care community
where he worked as a nurse aide. One of the victims was a patient in the
community’s memory-care unit.
Yost’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case with assistance
from the Conneaut Police Department and the FBI. The Ashtabula County
Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted the case.
The Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant
award totaling $15,343,488 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining
25% – totaling $5,114,493 for FY 2025 – is funded by the Ohio Attorney
General’s Office.
Source:
Former Caregiver at Retirement Community in Ashtabula County Sentenced to Prison for Rape
