Sex case against former nurse dropped after victim dies

LIMA — After the victim died, prosecutors dropped a felony charge against a former nurse accused of sexually abusing a patient at a local nursing home.

Prosecutor Juergen Waldick said the victim was the star witness against Alfredo Arrizola Jr., who was charged with gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. Without the victim's testimony, it would have been hard to make the case, Waldick said.

Arrizola, 40, of 1554 W. Wayne St., was accused of having a sexual encounter with a 55-year-old male patient at Shawnee Manor Nursing Home on Fort Amanda Road. The male patient told his significant other, which led to the charges, a prosecutor said.

Arrizola was fired in November after the incident.

Nurses at nursing homes typically administer medication, treatments and help with the activities of daily living.

The Ohio Department of Health completed a thorough investigation into the matter and found it an isolated incident and no wrongdoing on the part of the nursing home, nursing home Administrator Jessica Trinko said.

Arrizola was hired in 2004 after passing a thorough background check that included checking for a criminal record and contacting references, Trinko said.