PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Pinellas Park Police have arrested a man that officers say sexually battered a vulnerable patient at a local care facility.
Police said William Cease, 63, was found partially undressed while inappropriately touching a patient at the Care Center of Pinellas Park.
Cease worked at the center as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) since April 2019.
According to police, another employee walked in on Cease assaulting the 69-year-old woman. Investigators believe there could be additional victims.
Cease was licensed with the state of Florida as an LPN in 2002. He has no discipline record. But, he has appeared in court for battery and domestic violence charges in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Both charges were either dropped, or the cases were dismissed.
According to Florida State Statute, nursing home employees normally have to go through background checks every 5 years or when they get a new job. If this is the case, Cease could've had his last screening in 2017, before his charges. He was due for another background check next year, as well as renewing his license. But he may not have been fired because the crimes were misdemeanors, not felonies. He was never convicted, either, so that could be a factor. ABC Action News called AHCA twice to clarify but never received a response.
A complaint was filed with AHCA in July of 2018 about the nursing home's background check protocol. It was reported as corrected a month later.
Cease is charged with Sexual Battery of a Mentally Defective Person.
