Helping Hands group home in Milwaukee charged with assaulting resident

On By Pranco

A Milwaukee residential facility that served 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 75e 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 sentenced to two years in prison and remained in custody until his death in August 2024.

Mixon was previously accused of sexual assault twice, including a conviction in 2016.

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

“Our family has been significantly 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 kind of residential care center. They accommodate one to four residents and provide support with daily tasks that become more difficult due to physical disability, cognitive impairment or age.

In Wisconsin, such facilities are not required to check residents’ backgrounds, according to the state Department of Health.

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

“A simple search of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry would have revealed that Mixon was on the list,” the complaint said.

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

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

Hall said Racine County’s role is to enroll individuals in programs and file reports with the court using information provided by managed care organizations and group homes. Placement in single-family homes for adults is determined by the court.

“Racine County plays an extremely limited role in that 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 several times by phone and email for comment but received no response. Kemp died in 2023.

Attempted sexual assault occurred two months after the resident moved in

In Wisconsin, many residents of adult family homes receive housing and care managed care organizations like My Choice Wisconsin. They, in turn, are supervised by county and state officials.

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

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

In April 2021, Racine County applied to move the resident to Helping Hands on 75th Street, attorneys said.

Mixon already lived there, according to the lawsuit.

His criminal history includes a 1979 charge of first-degree assault, which resulted in a plea of ​​not guilty on the grounds of mental illness. In 2016, he was convicted of assaulting a victim with an intellectual disability, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.

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

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

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

In an investigative interview with a speech therapist after the incident, the victim said they did not welcome sexual touching.

Mixon pleaded guilty to second-degree assault of a mentally ill victim as a “habitual crime repeater” and was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision.

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

Another Helping Hands location also faced allegations of abuse

Generally, adult family homes are inspected every two years by Department of Health Services surveyors.

In recent years, the only shortcomings have been noted at Helpende Handen op 75e Street arose from a September 2023 complaint. The subsequent investigation revealed a variety of hazards, such as a non-working smoke detector, dangerously hot water pouring from the taps and no working fire extinguisher.

Regulators directed the facility to “develop and implement corrective actions to ensure the home is safe and free of hazards.”

The Ministry of Health does not issue fines to adult family homes with reports of abuse or unsafe living conditions, a spokesperson said in a statement. However, DHS may direct facility owners to develop a plan to achieve compliance with DHS regulations.

According to the state directories of adult family housing, there were eight Helping Hands locations in Wisconsin as of 2023. Six locations have closed in the past year.

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

Residents reported shouting, screaming and physical attacks both inside and outside the facility. Some said they witnessed residents leaving the home unclothed or wearing soiled adult diapers.

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

Avery L. Davis, a former janitor at the Sunset Drive facility, was accused of intentionally assaulting 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 owners were aware of the problems and had tried to resolve them.

“I think they’re decent guys,” Donovan said at a community meeting. “They’ve tried to do their best to correct some of these issues.” I think they just got in over their heads.”

How to report abuse or violations

If you believe a health care provider or state DQA-regulated healthcare providerhas violated any state or federal laws regarding regulated entities, you have the right to file a complaint. There are several ways in which you can file a complaint or report about a provider or its employee(s):

  • Submit a complaint online by completing the Complaints Intake Survey, F-00607.
  • To file a complaint, call the toll-free number by calling 800-642-6552. Leave a voicemail message and you will be called back no later than the next business day.
  • File a complaint with theOffice for Client Rights.

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