A 35-year-old Auburn man pleaded not guilty Monday in King County Superior Court to a charge of second-degree rape of a 71-year-old woman at a Kent assisted-living facility where he worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Douglas Benjamin McGregor remained in custody Monday at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Kent Police arrested McGregor Feb. 19 for investigation of second-degree rape after administrators at the Weatherly Inn at Lake Meridian called 911 to immediately report an incident between McGregor and a woman resident at the facility, according to the charging papers filed by King County prosecutors. The Weatherly Inn is an assisted-living facility for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
An employee at the facility walked into the woman’s room the morning of Feb. 19 and saw McGregor standing over the woman with his pants unbuttoned and his genitals exposed.
McGregor told officers that while he was dressing the woman she tugged at his waist line and the button on his pants broke, according to charging papers. He said his genitals were exposed because he was not wearing underwear.
McGregor told officers that he did not assault the woman. He had worked at the facility for about five months.
The state Department of Health is investigating a complaint against McGregor filed by the state Department of Social and Health Services, according to a state DOH spokeswoman. The investigation started Feb. 22, three days after police arrested McGregor for investigation of second-degree rape. The state will not release any details about the complaint against McGregor until its investigation is closed.
The state DOH Web site showed Monday that McGregor received his state certification to be a nursing assistant on Jan. 15, 2010 with an expiration date of Jan. 24, 2011. The site listed his status as active.
McGregor is scheduled to return March 25 to court when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case.
If found guilty, McGregor faces a sentencing range of six to eight years and could be held in prison for life. The Washington Indeterminate Sentence Review Board determines whether someone who commits a Class A felony gets released after he serves his sentence. The board evaluates the offender’s risk of reoffending and compliance with treatment programs in prison to determine whether to allow the release of the inmate.
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