Ex-Nurse’s Aide Convicted of Attacking Patient

A 45-year-old former nurse’s aide, convicted in the sexual assault of an 82-year-old Alzheimer’s patient at the Glendale convalescent hospital where he worked, could be sent to state prison for up to 14 years, authorities said.

Roy Alton Seaton of Burbank has been ordered to appear at a March 8 sentencing hearing before Pasadena Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lee.

A jury on Friday convicted Seaton of sodomy in connection with an incident that occurred shortly after 2 a.m. June 27 at Autumn Hills Convalescent Hospital. Seaton was also charged with rape with a foreign object, but the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of sexual battery, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Collier said.

Collier said he was satisfied with the outcome, and he praised nurse Linda Maxwell, who testified that she walked into the patient’s room and saw the assault.

“Linda Maxwell was definitely a star witness for the prosecution,” Collier said. “She was someone who basically caught the defendant in the act. Her testimony was unshakable and unflappable.”

Jurors were not told that Seaton had been convicted of sexually molesting a child prior to his employment by Autumn Hills, but the judge can consider Seaton’s past criminal record in sentencing. Collier said he will urge that Seaton receive the maximum term.

Seaton’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Bruce Schweiger, said he was not surprised by the jurors’ verdict. “They claimed the greatest weight was given to the eyewitness testimony,” he said.

After the assault, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services levied two fines totaling $11,000 against Autumn Hills. County officials said the penalties were imposed because a patient had been abused and because the hospital did not properly check Seaton’s background before hiring him. The hospital has appealed both fines.