55-year-old man in jail accused of raping elderly patient in 2000

A 55-year-old Clermont County man is in the Warren County Jail Tuesday, charged with raping a patient he was supposed to be caring for at a Mason retirement home 18 years ago.

Michael W. Schneider was arrested on Feb. 27 by Mason Detective Levi Wells, according to court records.

Schneider is accused of raping the victim at the Cedar Village Retirement Community on July 10, 2000.

Who’s In Warren County Jail

“The other person’s ability to resist or consent is substantially impaired because of mental or physical condition or because of advanced age, and the offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person’s ability to resist or consent is substantially impaired because of a mental or physical condition or because of advanced age,” according to the complaint filed in Mason Municipal Court.

Schneider remained in the jail on $100,000 bond. No lawyer had been appointed to represent him.

Wells declined to comment on what evidence supported the arrest after almost 19 years.

The case has not been referred to a Warren County grand jury.

Schneider is scheduled to return to the Mason court on Friday.

“Cedar Village has been fully cooperative and supportive of our investigation,” Mason police said in a press release issued Tuesday.

Cedar Village’s former owners, the Jewish Home of Cincinnati, also issued a statement.

“We are shocked and horrified by the allegations associated with Michael Schneider’s arrest. The Jewish Home of Cincinnati owned Cedar Village until 2018 and our top priority was always to protect and care for our residents. If these allegations are found to be true, Schneider violated our commitment and our trust. We will do everything we can to provide the new owners and law enforcement with any information they need,” Jewish Home of Cincinnati Chair Gary Blachman said.

The Jewish Home, formed to support older Jewish adults in Greater Cincinnati, sold the facility in 2018.

In a statement from the current owners, CarDon & Associates Chief Operating Officer Gregg Gormal said, “We care deeply for everyone who calls Cedar Village home and the physical, spiritual and emotional well-being of our residents is at the center of everything we do. Cedar Village is regularly recognized for service excellence and was recently awarded Pinnacle Quality Insight’s 2019 Customer Experience Award for achieving best-in-class customer satisfaction standards in safety and security. This award is based on independent third-party surveys of residents and their families.”

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