Maine nurse convicted of ‘grotesque and widespread’ attacks on disabled man

BANGOR – A Maine nursing home worker is going to prison after pleading guilty to attacks on a disabled man that prosecutors called “grotesque and massive.”

Zachery Conners, 26, was one of four staff members accused of abuse, including waterboarding, choking and sexually abusing an adult male client at Lee Residential Care Center in Hampden.

He pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a dependent person over a three-year period and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on August 30. His three former colleagues are awaiting trial on similar charges, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said the four staff members had complete control over the residents and abused their power to torture and abuse them. Conners was accused of choking the victim until he became unconscious and of participating in waterboarding, in which the victim's face was covered with a cloth and water was sprayed in his face to simulate drowning, prosecutors said.

The victim was also punched in the genitals, hit with a large spoon, sexually assaulted with objects and solicited to perform sexual acts with another resident, prosecutors said.

“The defendant was paid to protect these defenseless citizens. He did just the opposite,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Patricia Poulin.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from the center or Conners' attorney on Tuesday.

Lee Residential Services lost its state license last year after a police investigation that began with a report of an employee bringing a gun to work in January 2022 and a report of abuse two months later, said Lindsay Hammes, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

She said the department has fully supported and cooperated with the investigation “and is deeply troubled by the information uncovered by law enforcement.”

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