PREBLE COUNTY — A Preble County home healthcare worker who sexually abused his 76-year-old patient learned his sentence on Monday.
Brandon Velez, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the maximum he could get as charged, the Preble County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed with News Center 7. Velez will also have to register as a Tier I sex offender.
Velez was indicted Aug. 1 on two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count patient abuse for an incident that happened in Eaton in March 2022.
Velez took a plea deal earlier this month and pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual imposition and patient abuse. As part of the agreement, one count of gross sexual imposition was dismissed, according to Preble County Common Pleas Court records.
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Velez was an employee for Empowering People, Inc. and caring for a 76-year-old woman who was “blind non-verbal and has mental disabilities” at the time of the incident, according to an Eaton Police incident report.
News Center 7 previously reached out to the company and received “no comment” on the allegations against Velez and information on his employment status.
Police said the crimes happened at a group home in a neighborhood near Eaton Avenue and North Barron Street. Officers previously told News Center 7′s I-Team that one of Velez’s alert co-workers gave them a tip that kicked off this investigation.
The co-worker said she relieved Velez on the evening of March 3, according to an incident report. When she went to check on the victim later during her shift, she found what was later determined to be evidence on top of a dresser. That’s when police were notified.
During an investigation officers located additional evidence. Eaton police used DNA evidence and testing to link Velez to the crimes.
Velez is currently in custody of the Preble County Jail.
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