Lang
2/4/25
A West Branch nursing home is being sued by the family of a patient who claims a convicted masturbator was found in the patient’s bed.
According to a report in the Iowa Capitol Dispatch, 56-year-old Michael Beaver of West Branch was found partially undressed in bed with a female resident of the Crestview Specialty Care nursing home on April 5th of 2023. The resident…who has since died… had been admitted to the facility two months earlier for severe cognitive impairments.
State inspectors later concluded Beaver had been seen walking around in the facility as early as 10:30 a.m. that day. At 11:10 a.m., and at 1 p.m., staffers noticed Beaver pushing the woman in her wheelchair throughout the building but failed to intervene.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and dependent adult abuse.
West Branch Police issued a statement to Iowa Capitol Dispatch noting that Beaver was not charged with a crime because there was already an order to pick him up in connection with a civil commitment proceeding..
Two days before the Crestview incident, Beaver was arrested for masturbating for about four hours inside the Iowa City Public Library. Two months later, he was arrested again for masturbating on the Ped Mall outside the library. In November, he was given a two-year jail sentence.