Driver of Boston nursing home abused demented woman: DA – NBC Boston

An elderly woman with dementia was repeatedly sexually abused by a man who drove her to a Boston nursing facility, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Each time Edwin Lam attacked the 88-year-old Chelsea woman, it was recorded by a Ring surveillance camera, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.

Lam, a driver for Joyful Living Center Adult Day Health in Charlestown, was ordered held on $7,500 bail at an Aug. 19 hearing in Chelsea District Court. He was charged with eight counts of sexual assault and battery, prosecutors said. He was also ordered not to be at the woman's residence, not to work as a rideshare driver and to surrender his passport.

It was not immediately clear whether Lam, a 66-year-old from Medford, has an attorney who can respond to the charges. He is due back in court on Oct. 17 to hear the charges.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide resources for victims of sexual assault.

The surveillance video was discovered by an unidentified relative of the woman who noticed she was crying, prosecutors said. The footage, which was turned over to Chelsea police, allegedly shows Lam groping the woman's breasts and groin and placing her hand on his crotch.

This footage will be important to prosecution in this case, District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

“But even the best surveillance must be noticed and then brought to the attention of diligent investigators. Fortunately, both factors occurred here. And that's especially fortunate because this is a case where the victim was unable to communicate what was happening to her,” Hayden said.