The state Department of Human Services has revoked the license of a Bentonville assisted-living facility owned by a man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two residents.
Better Home Living, also known as New Adams House, at 904 SE Residents Way, was licensed to house 24 residents, but only had seven on March 26, when it was notified of the revocation, Human Services Department spokesman Amy Webb said.
Those residents have all been transferred to other facilities, she said.
The owner, Angel Floro, pleaded guilty in Benton County Circuit Court in December of two counts of second-degree sexual assault involving two women who lived at the home.
He was placed on 12 years of probation and sentenced to 75 days in jail.
A Feb. 19 lawsuit in Benton County Circuit Court by the sister and court-appointed guardian of one of the accusers seeks punitive damages against the facility, Floro and his wife, Terisita, over the assault.
In a March 26 letter notifying Better Home Living of the license revocation, Craig Cloud, director of the Human Services Department's Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance, cited repeated violations of state regulations and a "serious threat to residents' health and safety."
Among other violations, he listed a failure to ensure a licensed administrator was "consistently employed by the facility and on the premises during normal business hours for the past 8 months," a lack of licensed nursing staff to care for residents and a failure to perform criminal background checks on employees.
The letter said the facility had been given a notice of the violations three days earlier and failed to submit a corrective action plan as required. It noted that as of 1:30 p.m. on March 26, the facility still did not have a licensed administrator or nurse on site "to provide for the ongoing health and safety of the residents."
The letter gave the facility until last Friday to transfer its residents to other facilities.
Metro on 04/09/2019