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    • Helping Hands group home in Milwaukee sued for sexual assault on resident
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    Helping Hands group home in Milwaukee sued for sexual assault on resident

    Online Niel Posted on

    A Milwaukee assisted living facility that serves adults with developmental disabilities is accused of housing a convicted sex offender who then tried to sexually assault another resident, according to a federal lawsuit.

    The lawsuit alleges that the owners of Helping Hands on 75th St LLC, as well as local officials and case managers, were negligent when they placed the autistic, non-verbal resident in the same home as Michael Mixon in the spring of 2021.

    Mixon, then 62, attempted to sexually assault the resident. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, remaining incarcerated until his death in August 2024.

    Mixon had previously been charged with sexual assault twice, including a conviction in 2016.

    Now, the victim’s family is seeking answers as to why and how their son was placed with Mixon in the home at 157 N. 75th Street.

    “Our family has been substantially hurt and traumatized by this event,” the parents wrote in a letter to the judge overseeing Mixon’s case. “What little verbal vocabulary he has has diminished since the attack.”

    Family homes for adults are a type of assisted living facility. They house one to four residents and provide support for daily tasks that have become more difficult due to physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities or age.

    In Wisconsin, such facilities are not required to do background checks on residents, according to the state Department of Health Services.

    However, the plaintiffs, represented by Cade Law Group, allege that Helping Hands owners Doran Kemp and Alex Mayfield failed to properly supervise the facility, leading to the resident’s attack.

    “A simple search of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry would have shown that Mixon was listed,” the complaint states.

    The lawsuit also names Racine County, the managed care organization My Choice Wisconsin and Lori Knapp Richland Inc., a company that coordinates care in group family homes.

    Sam Hall, an attorney representing Racine County, said in a statement that the incident “involves a complex set of facts and circumstances regarding adult group homes in the state of Wisconsin.”

    Hall said Racine County’s role is to enroll people in programs and make reports to the court, using information provided by managed care organizations and group homes. Foster care placement for adults is determined by the courts.

    “Racine County has an extremely limited role in this process and is not responsible for selecting residential placements,” Hall said.

    Alan Mazzulla, an attorney for My Choice Wisconsin, and Eric Toler, a spokesman for Lori Knapp Cares Inc., declined to comment.

    The Journal Sentinel reached out to Mayfield multiple times by phone and email for comment, but did not receive a response. Camp died in 2023.

    The attempted sexual assault occurred two months after the resident moved out

    In Wisconsin, many residents of family homes for adults receive housing and care managed care organizations such as My Choice Wisconsin. They, in turn, are overseen by county and state officials.

    In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that My Choice Wisconsin and local officials failed to ensure that Helping Hands on 75th was a safe facility for the non-verbal resident.

    According to the complaint, the victim was living in another family home for adults in Whitewater when an “outburst of aggressive behavior” led to a temporary stay at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute.

    In April 2021, Racine County requested the resident be moved to Helping Hands on 75th Street, attorneys said.

    Mixon already lived there, according to the lawsuit.

    His criminal history included a 1979 charge of first-degree sexual assault that led to a plea of ​​not guilty by reason of mental illness. In 2016, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled victim, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.

    Mixon moved in and out of supervised correctional facilities and detention centers, according to Department of Corrections records, before being admitted to Helping Hands on 75th.

    On the morning of June 7, 2021, the Milwaukee Police Department responded to a report of a sexual assault on the property.

    A caregiver told police he found Mixon bent over the other resident in his bedroom with both underwear pulled down. Mixon then told the caretaker, “Don’t say anything,” and returned to his bedroom, according to court records. Later that day, Mixon told the caregiver that he “can’t control his hormones.”

    In an investigative interview with a speech therapist following the incident, the victim said she did not consent to the sexual touch.

    Mixon pleaded guilty to second-degree sexually assaulting a mentally ill victim as a “habitual repeat offender” and was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision.

    He was placed on the Wisconsin Department of Corrections sex offender registry for 15 years, the lawsuit states.

    Another Helping Hands location also faced allegations of abuse

    Generally, foster homes for adults are inspected every two years by inspectors with the Department of Health Services.

    In recent years, the only deficiencies found at Helping Hands on 75th Street stemmed from a complaint in September 2023. The subsequent investigation found a variety of hazards, such as a non-working smoke detector, dangerously hot water running from faucets and no working fire extinguishers.

    Regulators ordered the facility to “develop and implement corrective measures to ensure the home is safe and hazard-free.”

    The Department of Health Services does not issue fines against single-family homes for adults with reports of abuse or unsafe living conditions, a spokesman said in a statement. However, DHS may order facility owners to establish a plan to meet DHS rules.

    In 2023, there were eight Helping Hands locations in Wisconsin, according to state directories of adult family homes. In the past year, six locations have closed.

    Last September, the Journal Sentinel wrote about the frequencies reports of violence and abuse at another Helping Hands facility located on South Sunset Drive in Milwaukee.

    Residents reported yelling, screaming and physical attacks both inside and outside the unit. Some said they saw residents leaving the house naked or wearing dirty adult diapers.

    Kathy Hauglie, the parent of a former resident of the Sunset Drive location, told the Journal Sentinel at the time that she suspected her son had been abused because of signs of injury on his body. Despite her suspicions, Hauglie said it was difficult for her to move her son to a new facility.

    Avery L. Davis, a former janitor at the Sunset Drive center, was charged with willful abuse of a resident later that month. In January, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison with 15 months of extended supervision.

    At the time, state Rep. Bob Donovan said the facility’s owners were aware of the problems and were trying to fix them.

    “I think they’re decent guys,” Donovan said at a community meeting. “They tried to do their best to fix some of them. I think they just went over their heads.”

    How to report abuse or violations

    If you believe a caretaker or a state DQA Regulated Care Providerhas violated state or federal laws relating to regulated entities, you have the right to file a complaint. There are several ways to file a complaint or report about a supplier or its employees:

    • Submit a complaint online by completing the complaint receipt survey, F-00607.
    • Call the toll-free number to file a complaint at 800-642-6552. Leave a voicemail and your call. it will be returned on the next business day.
    • Submit a complaint toOffice for customer rights.

    Tamia Fowlkes is a public investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at [email protected].

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