A 24-year-old Rockwall memory care worker is facing four counts of aggravated sexual assault after police say he groomed and repeatedly assaulted a 67-year-old dementia patient under his care, including a final encounter after the woman had already been moved to a different facility. Zachary Daylon Yoakum was arrested on August 15 and remains accused of exploiting his access to a vulnerable resident over a period that authorities say included proposals of marriage and secret code words meant to hide the relationship.
According to EastTexasRadio.com, Yoakum was employed at a Rockwall memory care facility when he was accused of sexually assaulting the 67-year-old dementia patient in his care, according to Rockwall police. Three of the four alleged assaults happened while Yoakum worked at Village Green Memory Care Community Center in Rockwall, while the fourth occurred after the woman transferred to Rock Ridge Assisted Living & Memory Care, as reported by FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth.
How Family Oversight Uncovered the Alleged Abuse
Police began investigating after the victim's daughter discovered suspicious call logs and text messages between her mother and Yoakum, the station reported. That discovery came after the woman's July hospitalization for a psychosis episode that led to her dementia diagnosis, a timeline that underscores how quickly her vulnerability set in before the alleged relationship was uncovered.
An arrest affidavit cited by the outlet states that Yoakum professed love to the victim, proposed marriage, and established code words to conceal their interactions. The same affidavit indicates one of the sexual encounters took place in a public garden near a memory care facility, according to the station's report.
Contact Continued After Facility Transfer
Even after the woman was moved to Rock Ridge Assisted Living & Memory Care, the alleged contact did not stop. An employee at the new facility alerted the victim's daughter on August 11 after observing a young man twice attempt to visit her mother there, per the same account. The arrest affidavit indicates Yoakum assaulted the victim three times at the facility where he worked and a fourth time at the new facility where she had been relocated.
Yoakum was booked into the Rockwall County Jail with total bond set at $400,000 following his August 15 arrest, according to reporting via Apple Podcasts.
Why the Charges Carry Life-Sentence Exposure
Under Texas Penal Code § 22.021, sexual assault is elevated to first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault when committed against an elderly individual aged 65 or older or a disabled person, according to FindLaw. The statute carries a prison sentence ranging from 5 to 99 years or life, along with a fine of up to $10,000. Legal guidance published by Varghese Summersett notes that a conviction for first-degree aggravated sexual assault in Texas also mandates lifetime registration on the state's public sex offender registry.
Texas facilities like Village Green and Rock Ridge are licensed, monitored, and inspected by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, according to MemoryCare.com. Yet oversight gaps remain a persistent concern statewide; research published in PMC found that while elder mistreatment affects an estimated 11% of cognitively intact older adults annually, that rate climbs as high as 75% among seniors living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. A report by AARP, cited by Trial Attorneys Texas, notes that Texas has repeatedly received low national rankings for nursing home care and safety, with 80% of long-term care facilities failing to achieve above-average overall ratings.
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