Resident of assisted living facility arrested for attempted rape of 89-year-old woman with dementia

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tony Wayne Morgan, 77, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with burglary and attempted rape of an 89-year-old woman with dementia at Charter Senior Living of Gainesville.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that Morgan normally lives in the assisted living part of the facility, where he can check himself in and out during daytime hours; the victim, who suffers from “severe dementia,” lives in a part of the facility where she has all-day supervision.

Morgan was reportedly moved to a higher level of care at 2:40 a.m. yesterday because he was exhibiting erratic behavior and “being extremely hostile towards staff.”

At 5:15 a.m., Morgan allegedly entered the victim’s room, took off his shorts and underwear, removed the victim’s pants and underwear, and climbed on top of her. Staff reportedly found him lying next to the victim with his pants off.

Morgan was previously arrested in 2019 and convicted of property damage for denting a vehicle belonging to his ex-wife and hitting her Ring camera with a hammer. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation in February 2020. He was arrested again in August 2020 for placing a running hose in the window of the same victim, but the charges were dropped in September 2020. In November 2021, a sworn complaint was filed by two different victims who said Morgan had intentionally tried to hit their car several times, and he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but the charges were later dropped.

Bail information is not posted on the court system’s website because the crime is sexual in nature.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.