Group Home That Housed Sex Offender Under Review

Bobby Marcellus Frazier, 60, has been charged with attempted second-degree forcible rape, kidnapping, felonious breaking and entering and two counts of assault on a female.

Frazier had walked away from a group home at 552 Industrial Drive in Wendell Tuesday morning, a short time before a 92-year-old woman and a 78-year-old woman were assaulted inside their Wendell home, police said.

The older woman was able to call 911, and officers were able to thwart an attempted sexual assault, police said. The younger woman suffered what police described as substantial injuries.

"It should have never happened. That guy should have never made it any further than the front doorstep without an escort," said a relative of one of the women.

Wendell Police Chief J.A. Privette said he wants to find out if the supervisors at Emmanuel's Homecare, the group home for mentally ill patients where Frazier was staying, did anything wrong.

"Was he properly placed (there) to start with?" Privette said.

The state Department of Health and Human Services licenses group homes, and spokeswoman Debbie Crane said departmental investigators have already visited Emmanuel's Homecare.

Investigators were looking at whether the three-bed facility has been following the guidlines of its license, including reviewing the treatment plan for residents and the level of supervision provided, Crane said. They also were expected to speak with other patients in the home, she said.

"We'll be looking at everything from records (to) criminal background checks for the people who work there. There's a whole series of things that we'll be looking at – the whole nine yards," she said.

The home was cited a year ago for a number of deficiences, including neglecting treatment of one resident, failure to train three staff member in CPR, record-maintenance issues and failure to complete a criminal records check on an employee.

The home changed ownership in December, and all of the problems had been corrected by January, Crane said.

A report with the investigators' findings isn't expected to be completed for at least a week, she said. If serious deficiencies are found, the home could be shut down, she said.