Lee nursing home worker accused of attempted rape

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (AP) - An employee of a Berkshire County nursing home is facing charges of trying to rape a resident.

Paul Shartrand pleaded not guilty Monday in Southern Berkshire District Court to charges of assault with intent to rape, assault and battery on a disabled person over 60 years of age and injury to a disabled or elderly person. He was ordered held pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Police say the 46-year-old Shartrand, a certified nursing assistant at the Laurel Lake Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Lee, was arrested Sunday in response to a complaint from another employee that a disabled elderly woman had been sexually assaulted in her room.

Police Chief Joseph Buffis tells The Berkshire Eagle that the case remains under investigation.