Hatfield Police.
Edward Gatling, of Paradise Manor in Hatfield Borough, is accused of indecent assault in the June incident
A Hatfield Borough man is facing misdemeanor charges of assault of an unconscious person and indecent assault without consent of another person for an incident that occurred this month at Paradise Manor.
The victim called police on the night of June 6 to report a sexual assault allegedly committed the night before by resident Edward Gatling, 71, at the elder care center at 206 E. Lincoln Ave. in the borough.
According to the affidavit filed June 13, the victim went to sleep her in pajama pants and shirt, but was awoken at 9 p.m. from a dream about an animal touching her left groin area. When she came to, she realized the wheelchair-bound Gatling had his hand on her groin and her pajama pants were pulled down above her knees, detectives allege.
The victim yelled at Gatling and told him to leave her room, and she locked the door.
On the surveillance video, Gatling allegedly exited his room in his wheelchair at 8:51 p.m., navigated to the victim’s room and stopped outside the door. He then allegedly looks in the direction of the victim’s bed, looks around the hallway, and then pulls into the room.
He then returned to his room at 9:02 p.m., police said. At 9:05 p.m., Gatling allegedly again navigated his wheelchair to the victim’s room but passed by it. Then, at 9:12 p.m., Gatling returned to his room, police said. However, at 9:13 p.m., he allegedly wheeled himself out of his room and directly to the victim’s room, attempted to open the door with his left hand, and then turned around and returned to his room.
The victim told police that, since March 2025, Gatling has attempted to have several sexual conversations with her, but she ended them quickly. Police allege in one of the conversations, the victim told Gatling, “My husband died in 2024 and hasn’t even been dead a year yet, so please leave me alone.” Gatling allegedly replied, “OK, I’ll be back in June then.”
An email and messages left for Paradise Manor and its CEO for comment were not returned by publication time. Comments will be added to the article once received.
Gatling was issued a summons for the charges. No bail or jail information is available on the docket. A preliminary hearing is set for July 23.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
