Dead caretaker admits sexual assault in suicide note

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It's a secret that almost never came to light – a caretaker who sexually assaulted the most vulnerable among us.

The secret unraveled on a March morning in 2009, in Indianapolis’ famed Eagle Creek Park. A body was discovered. It was deemed suicide. His name was Jon Whitlow. And he had a secret. In a suicide note, he admitted sexually assaulting the woman he was charged with caring for.

Jackie, by many accounts, was the “perfect victim” — she’s developmentally disabled, autistic and non-verbal.

“I cried for hours thinking about how someone could be so sick,” says Jamie, Jackie’s sister. “They took her innocence.”

24-Hour News 8 is omitting last names and certain details because Jackie is the victim of sexual assault.

Whitlow worked as a caretaker for Indiana Mentor – part of national care organization National Mentor. Indiana Mentor has a dozen offices and several hundred clients in the state. Their mantra is: Building Relationships. Enhancing Lives.

The only clue that something was amiss is that Jackie started acting out.

“Her behavior scares us because of everything it could be,” says Jamie.

After learning of the case, 24-Hour News 8 uncovered multiple Marion County suits against the care agency. One is the 2006 case of Fabrian Moore — a caretaker convicted and imprisoned for raping his developmentally disabled client.

In a response to our inquiry, Indiana Mentor said:

"The responsibility for the safety and well-being of those we serve is of paramount importance. Incidents involving those we serve are rare. We are constantly reviewing and updating our practices in an effort to ensure that we are providing the highest level of support possible.”

Indiana Mentor was unable to make case-specific comments due to the pending litigation.
The family, in retrospect, is also concerned that a male caretaker was assigned to Jackie’s care.

“Some care companies avoid sexual abuse simply by not assigning a male caretaker to disabled females,” says the family attorney, Tom Hastings.

"While employment anti-discrimination laws would prohibit us from establishing gender-specific staffing policies, we work aggressively to provide the best staffing possible to meet the specific needs of the people we support," Indiana Mentor said in the statement.

Studies show people with disabilities are two times more likely to be raped . One shows that 49 percent of those with disabilities will experience 10 or more sexually abusive incidents. Some experts believe the statistics may, in part, be because of low caretaker pay — $9 an hour average to take care of a life — and high turn-over — upwards of 74 percent every year.

"You have uncovered a systemic problem of our service industry,” says nationally known expert and care advocate Amy Hewitt. “Minimum qualifications, minimum training, and often a one-time background check. We've built an industry around low wage, high turnover, disenfranchised workers. We know what will make it better, yet as a society we cut budgets which makes a bad situation worse.”

“A main concern for the family is to prevent this from happening again in the future,” said attorney Hastings.

“I can't picture someone doing what he did but I do,” says sister Jamie. “I see it. I think about what he did to her.”

60-year-old Jon Whitlow remains an enigma in death. He lived with his wife in Broad Ripple. She broke down in tears when 24-Hour News 8 Reporter Brad Edwards spoke to her at her door. She gave no on-the-record comment. Mrs. Whitlow was the one who turned over the suicide note to authorities.

In the end, Whitlow admitted sexually assaulting Jackie, but that’s it. How long? To what extent?

To that, Jackie says: “We'll never know. She can't speak for herself.”