Colona man gets 5 years for abuse

Font Size:

By Dustin Lemmon | Saturday, June 23, 2007 12:07 AM CDT | () comments

A Colona, Ill., man was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for sexually abusing a mentally challenged woman while he was an employee at Heritage 53 in Moline.

Richard W. Schenebricker, 55, of 505 9th Ave., pleaded guilty in Rock Island County Circuit Court in April to a felony count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Heritage 53 houses 64 residents with severe to profound disabilities.

According to court records, another employee walked into a room on Nov. 18, 2006, and spotted Schenebricker with his hand down the victim’s pants and reported it to her supervisors. The victim is “profoundly mentally retarded” and was a resident at the time, the charges state.

Schenebricker reportedly told Moline police that he had committed previous acts at Heritage 53, also known as The ARC of Rock Island County, court records said, but they didn’t specify whether it was the same victim.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.