DA: Caregiver assaulted 76-year-old patient

DE PERE — A caregiver is accused of sexually assaulting a 76-year-old patient at a De Pere nursing home.

Theodore William Schartner, 33, of Howard is charged with two felonies: second-degree sexual assault, and intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Brown County Circuit Court. He made an initial appearance Monday before Circuit Judge Tammy Jo Hock, who set bond at $50,000.

The complaint alleges that Schartner entered the room of a rehabilitation patient the night of Sept. 15 as she tried to sleep. He measured her blood pressure and then allegedly began touching her inappropriately with his bare hands. The woman yelled, "you get your hands off me" and "Get out of here and don't come back," the complaint states.

Later that night, the man re-entered her room when she activated her "call" button, but she ordered him out.

The woman reported the incident the following morning to another staffer at the facility, the Rennes Health & Rehab Center. Rennes officials suspended Schartner and notified police the same day, according to the complaint.

In court Monday, defense attorney Carrie LaPlant sought a lower bail — $2,500 cash or a $10,000 signature bond. She said Schartner is a certified nursing assistant who has strong ties to the community, and has no prior criminal record.

But prosecutor Bryant Dorsey said Schartner would pose a danger to the community if he was released on bail.

"What's particularly (disconcerting) is that he was trusted to care for this victim, and he violated that trust," Dorsey said. He said Schartner assumed the victim suffered from dementia and would not be believed if she reported the assault.

"But this victim," Dorsey told Hock, "does have full mental capacity."

Schartner is due back in court at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 13.

— dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider