A man has been charged after allegedly sexually assaulting an elderly patient with cognitive impairment at an aged care home in Maclean.
In June 2026, detectives attached to Coffs/Clarence Police District began investigating a report that an assistant nurse had allegedly sexually assaulted a 79-year-old patient with cognitive impairment, between November 2023 and February 2024, at the Maclean aged care facility.
Following extensive inquiries, a 27-year-old man was arrested at Grafton Police Station about 9am on Monday, 13 July.
He was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a victim with cognitive impairment, aggravated sexual touching of another person, and aggravated carrying out of a sexual act with another person.
The man was refused bail, and is due to reappear before Grafton Local Court on Monday, 7 September.
The charges reflect a category of offence created specifically to protect people with cognitive impairment, who are especially vulnerable to sexual assault. The Australian Law Reform Commission has stated that these specific offences often target people in a position of trust, such as carers or providers of medical or therapeutic services, and can be used alongside other sexual offence charges.
An estimated 50 sexual assaults take place in residential aged care in Australia every week. Many service providers have limited knowledge about how common sexual assault is, the profound effect it has on victims and survivors, and what support services are available.
Because of the challenges in reporting and proving crimes where the victim is cognitively impaired, there is a tendency for crimes against people with cognitive impairment, particularly in institutions like aged care homes, to be handled administratively rather than referred to police.
This incident happened at the Mareeba Aged Care, a 119 bed facility in Maclean that at the time was family owned.
The home has since changed hands and been renamed Whiddon Mareeba Maclean. Aged care provider Whiddon took over ownership and operation of the Maclean facility in October 2025, nearly two years after the alleged assaults are reported to have happened, and well over a year after the alleged offending ended.
“Whiddon is aware of the serious allegations relating to an incident that is reported to have occurred approximately two and a half years ago, prior to Whiddon assuming ownership and operation of the Maclean residential aged care home in October 2025,” a Whiddon spokesperson said.
“While the alleged incident predates Whiddon’s management of the home, we take any allegation concerning the safety and wellbeing of residents extremely seriously.”
“Since becoming aware of the matter, Whiddon has been actively investigating and has followed the appropriate reporting and safeguarding processes.”
“We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and are unable to comment further while investigations and legal proceedings are ongoing.”
“The safety, dignity and wellbeing of our residents remains our highest priority and we are deeply shocked and saddened by the reports,” the spokesperson said.
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