HORRIBLE

Virginia Caregiver Sentenced to Life in Prison for Raping, Impregnating Two Mentally Disabled Patients

One woman had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old and could not understand that she was pregnant.

A man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after he raped and impregnated two mentally disabled clients at a Virginia disability center, The Washington Post reports. Bernard Betts-King, a former employee at the MVLE center, impregnated two women who attended the center’s day program for the intellectually disabled in 2017 and 2018. A 29-year-old woman he raped had the “mind of a 5-year-old,” and did not understand that she was pregnant. The woman had to have a caesarean section because she could not understand instructions for her to push during labor. Betts-King, 61, also raped a 33-year-old woman with autism and the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.

Police arrested Betts-King in February after the second woman told police that a man named Bernard had touched her. DNA test confirmed that Betts-King was her child’s father. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney George Freeman said Betts-King claimed the second woman consented to having sex with him, though Virginia law states those with an intellectual disability are incapable of consenting to sex. Betts-King also told police he had sex with the first woman he impregnated. Both children are reportedly being taken care of by the families of the women, and the state did not find any wrongdoing in the center’s handling of Betts-King.