Lawsuit: Residence for brain-injured people hid sex abuse

A federal lawsuit alleges administrators at a New York residence for brain-injured people covered up a patient's sex abuse, allowing the employee to repeat it.

The patient is a military veteran in her 50s who was injured in a motorcycle accident and has the functional capacity of a 12-year-old.

The lawsuit says a retired priest working at the nonprofit Hudson Valley Cerebral Palsy Association made her perform oral sex on him in a courtyard in June.

The lawsuit says staff reported the abuse to supervisors, but it was repeated three months later.

Putnam County prosecutors say the priest has been jailed on sex abuse charges.

A friend of the patient's filed the lawsuit, which seeks damages for emotional harm and rights violations.

Calls to the association weren't immediately returned Thursday.