Attorney General James Announces Conviction of Former Nursing Home Employee for Raping a Resident Suffering from Dementia

Khadka Pradhan Raped an 81-Year-Old Resident While He Worked as Housekeeper at Shore Winds Nursing Home in Rochester

ROCHESTER – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that Khadka Pradhan, 52, of Rochester was found guilty of raping and otherwise sexually assaulting an 81-year-old resident suffering from dementia at the Shore Winds Nursing Home in Rochester, where he worked as a housekeeper in September 2021. A Monroe County jury convicted Pradhan of all charges in the December 2021 indictment: Rape in the First Degree, Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, and Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree, and lesser-included offenses. Pradhan has been remanded into custody until sentencing, scheduled for January 6, 2023. He faces up to 25 years in state prison.

“Khadka Pradhan hideously violated an elderly woman with dementia in her home, where her loved ones trusted she would be cared for and protected,” said Attorney General James. “Pradhan abused and took advantage of our most vulnerable, and today, the jury convicted him of these heinous and reprehensible crimes. My office will always ensure violent criminals are held accountable for threatening New Yorkers’ safety.”

Pradhan was tried in Monroe County Court in Rochester before Judge Caroline E. Morrison. Evidence presented at the trial proved that in the early morning hours of September 29, 2021, Pradhan entered the room of a vulnerable and mentally disabled resident at Shore Winds Nursing Home and raped her. Another employee at the facility entered the resident’s room and observed Pradhan engaged in the assault. Other employees detained Pradhan and attended to the resident until the Rochester Police Department (RPD) arrived on the scene. DNA evidence obtained by RPD and admitted into evidence during the trial connected Pradhan to the crime.

Attorney General James would like to thank RPD, the Monroe County District Attorney’s office, and the Monroe County Crime Laboratory for their valuable assistance in this investigation, and the New York State Department of Health for promptly referring this matter to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

This matter was investigated by OAG's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). MFCU Detective Stacey DiSanto investigated the matter under the supervision of Deputy Chief, Commanding Officer William Falk. 

The case was presented to the jury by Special Assistant Attorney General William T. Gargan, MFCU Rochester Regional Office Director, under the supervision of MFCU Chief of Criminal Investigations Thom O’Hanlon. Senior Auditor-Investigator Kaitlynn Arias and MFCU Electronic Investigative Support Group member Randy Kent provided support to the trial team. MFCU is led by Director Amy Held and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Paul J. Mahoney. MFCU is a part of the Division for Criminal Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

Reporting Medicaid Provider Fraud: MFCU defends the public by addressing Medicaid provider fraud and protecting nursing home residents from abuse and neglect. If an individual believes they have information about Medicaid provider fraud or about an incident of abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident, they can file a confidential complaint online on the OAG website or by calling the MFCU hotline at (800) 771-7755. If the situation is an emergency, they should call 911.

MFCU’s total funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2023 is $65,717,936. Of that total, 75 percent, or $49,288,452, is awarded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $16,429,484 for FY 2023, is funded by New York state. Through MFCU’s recoveries in law enforcement actions, it regularly returns more to the state than it receives in state funding.