Courts (Credit: MediaNews Group)
Edward Gatling, of Paradise Manor in Hatfield Borough, committed the assault in June 2025 at Paradise Manor in Hatfield Borough
A Hatfield Borough senior citizen will be sentenced in May after admitting last week to the indecent assault of a fellow resident at Paradise Manor while they were asleep.
Edward Gatling, 71, pleaded guilty last week to misdemeanor indecent assault without consent in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. A second misdemeanor charge indecent assault on an unconscious person was dismissed.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 13 before Common Pleas Judge Wendy Rothstein.
According to police, the victim called police on the night of June 6, 2025 to report a sexual assault allegedly committed the night before by Gatling at the elder care center at 206 E. Lincoln Ave. in the borough.
According to the affidavit filed June 13, 2025, 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 alleged.
The victim yelled at Gatling and told him to leave her room, and she locked the door.
On the surveillance video, Gatling exited his room in his wheelchair at 8:51 p.m., navigated to the victim’s room and stopped outside the door. He then looks in the direction of the victim’s bed, looks around the hallway, and then pulls into the room, police said.
He then returned to his room at 9:02 p.m., police said. At 9:05 p.m., Gatling 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 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 said 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 replied, “OK, I’ll be back in June then.”
Gatling is free on $1,000 unsecured bail.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
