Delivery driver faces more than 20 years in prison after sexually abusing a 92-year-old resident of an assisted living facility

The Bickford of Chesterfield. (Photo: Brad Vassar/8News)

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Later this month, Leon Sykes Jr. will go before a judge after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a resident at an assisted living facility in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield Police arrested Sykes in December 2022 for sexually assaulting a 92-year-old resident of Bickford of Chesterfield, an assisted living facility.

According to police, Sykes worked for the medical device company AdaptHealth. He was in the middle of handing a mattress cover to another patient before he strolled into the victim’s room and assaulted her by groping her breasts and exposing himself. She was asleep when he entered but reportedly woke up during the attack.

The entire incident was caught on camera.

8News Legal Analyst Russ Stone said that without the video, this incident would have been one person’s word against one person’s word.

“When you talk about elder abuse, that person may not have been able to speak for themselves — the video did that for them,” Stone said.

Police had originally charged Sykes with aggravated sexual assault, indecent exposure and unlawful entry. According to court records, the unlawful entry charge was dropped and Sykes pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges.

At that time, the police assumed that there could be more victims. However, a spokesperson for the Chesterfield Police Department told 8News that no further reports were filed.

After a jury trial in February in which Skyes was found guilty on the remaining two counts, a sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 21. During this hearing, Sykes and members of the victim’s family will have the opportunity to make statements before the judge.

“The guilt is already established,” Stone said. “Now it’s just a matter of what the punishment should be.”