A female caregiver was charged with the sexual assault of an intellectually disabled man in Jacksonville on Tuesday after she told police she was put in an "awkward position" due to his requests, according to a police report.
According to the report, Absolute Managed Care employee Merriam Carmical, 51, told police in an interview that on three occasions last week she was asked by the 21-year-old patient to rub lotion on his groin area during a bath at his home.
Police wrote that "Carmical stated she believed what she was doing was wrong, but felt [the patient] put her in an awkward position."
Carmical told police she was not threatened and was aware of the man's disability, according to the report.
Carmical was charged with second-degree sexual assault and was listed in the Pulaski County jail roster Wednesday.
Reached by phone Wednesday, her husband, John Carmical, said he had not yet spoken to his wife in jail and questioned the allegations in the police report.
"It must have been a misunderstanding because there's no way my wife could have done what they say she's done," Carmical said. "I want to get to the bottom of this."
A spokesman for Absolute Managed Care said Merriam Carmical has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.