Caregiver Accused|of Raping Children

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - A medical staffing agency hired a man with 18 aliases who raped a father's 8-year-old daughter and his blind, autistic son, the single dad claims in court.

Rick Shannep sued Maxim Homecare Services and German Zapata in Orange County Court on behalf of his son John Sa Doe, now 11, and his daughter Jane Sa Doe, now 12.

Zapata, 40, is in a maximum security prison after being convicted of five felonies, including two counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child younger than 10, according to the complaint.

Shannep claims that Maryland-based Maxim had "previous knowledge of Zapata's dangerous propensities and tendencies as a child molester, sexual harasser, and sexual abuser" and should have revealed "the truth about Zapata and his dangerous propensities," but did not even do a background check on him.

The 44-page lawsuit does not elucidate how Maxim acquired its previous knowledge if it never did a background check.

Shannep says that after hiring Zapata in August 2011 he initially believed that he "worked well," though more than a dozen previous Maxim caregivers had been unable to cope with the demands of looking after his severely disabled son.

Zapata usually worked four or five hours a day on weekends. Shannep says he noticed that when Zapata took his son on walks around the neighborhood, or to a Carl's Jr. burger restaurant, they would be gone for more than 45 minutes.

"Shannep also began to notice that when Zapata and John Sa Doe returned from their long walks or trips that John Sa Doe would sit on the couch and remain very still and quiet. This was extremely unusual for John Sa Doe as he was almost never still due to his disabilities. When Shannep asked Zapata how he managed to get John Sa Doe to rest so quietly, Zapata said that he 'must have tired [John Sa Doe] out.'" (Brackets in complaint.)

By February 2012, the little boy would scream and throw tantrums whenever Zapata came to the house, Shannep says.

On May 20, 2012, Shannep says, he came home to find that the Huntington Beach Police Department had been called to the house, after Zapata told his daughter's friend that he would pay her $100 to take her shirt off.

"The police interviewed Zapata. Zapata admitted to committing many acts of abuse towards Jane Sa Doe, and was in fact almost bragging about what he had done to Jane Sa Doe," the lawsuit states.

The family seeks statutory and punitive damages on 12 counts, including sexual assault and battery, five counts of negligence, constructive fraud unfair business practices and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

They are represented by Skye Daley with Manly Stewart & Finaldi, of Irvine.

Maxim Homecare Services declined to comment.

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