Ex-nurse's aide gets house arrest in attempted rape case

LEE -- A nursing home employee charged with attempting to rape a disabled elderly resident will be placed under house arrest pending his trial.

The order, issued by Judge Fredric Rutberg, came at a dangerousness hearing Thursday in Southern Berkshire District Court.

Under the terms of his release on $5,000 bail, Paul Shartrand, 46, of Pittsfield, will be monitored by a GPS tracking device.

He is only permitted to leave his home to attend church with a family member, go to medical appointments, meet with his lawyer and attend court.

Shartrand, a certified nursing assistant, worked at the Laurel Lake Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Lee. He no longer is employed at the nursing home, according to a statement from the center.

"As soon as we learned of this situation, we took immediate action," the statement said. "We have and will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in this matter."

Shartrand has pleaded not guilty to one count each of assault with intent to rape, assault and battery on a disabled person over 60 years of age, and injury to a disabled or elderly person.

Shartrand was arrested Sunday after a complaint lodged by another employee, whom police said entered a patient's room late at night and found Shartrand on top of the alleged victim.

The woman he is alleged to have attacked is in the late stages of Huntington's Dis ease and is dependent on "around-the-clock care for all phases of living and is unable to communicate," according to police.

Shartrand told police that the employee accusing him "was out to get him."

In deciding to remand Shartrand, Rutberg cited the nature and seriousness of the alleged crime, which the judge described as the "sexual assault of a defenseless victim."

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