A Medford man has been charged with sexually assaulting an 88-year-old woman with dementia, who the man regularly drove to an elder care facility, according to the Suffolk DA’s Office.
Edwin Lam, 66, was charged with eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a 60-plus/disabled person after the alleged assaults were captured on Ring camera surveillance video from the victim’s home.
The videos show Lam, who drove for Joyful Living Center Adult Day Health in Charlestown, allegedly touching the Chelsea woman’s breasts and groin area. The videos also show Lam allegedly grabbing the victim’s hand and placing it on his crotch.
A relative of the victim looked at the Ring footage after noticing the victim crying, according to the DA’s Office. The family member then contacted Chelsea police, who secured the video of the eight alleged assaults and obtained a summons for Lam.
Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden praised the relative and police, and noted the importance of the video evidence in the case.
“We live in an era of widespread commercial and domestic video surveillance, which when used judiciously and appropriately can be a tremendous asset to investigators,” Hayden said in a statement. “But even the best surveillance must be noticed and then brought to the attention of diligent investigators.
“Fortunately, both of those factors happened here,” he added. “And it’s particularly fortunate because this is a case where the victim was unable to communicate what was happening to her.”
Lam has been ordered held on $7,500 bail and other release conditions.
The judge ordered Lam to stay away from the victim’s home, surrender his passport, not engage in ride share employment, remain in Massachusetts, and wear a GPS device with an exclusion zone around the victim’s home.
Lam is set to return to court on Oct. 17 for a probable cause hearing.
