Man accused of abusing disabled woman

Thomas M. Mohar pleaded not guilty in state District Court in Havre Monday to charges accusing him of kicking a disabled woman in the jaw and pouring cold water on her while she was in the shower.

Mohar is charged with abuse of a disabled person.

District Judge Dan Boucher set a May 16 deadline for filing motions including hearing and trial dates.

Charging documents say Havre police officers responded to a call March 4 at the Havre Day Activity Center after an employee requested that police look into an abuse allegation.

A resident, an elderly woman who is described in the document as being cognitively delayed and having cerebral palsy, said Mohar abused her.

Officers found an outstanding warrant on Mohar and then an Adult Protective Services employee conducted an interview.

The files say Mohar told the interviewer that, incident started when the resident refused to listen to him and get dressed and ready for bed.

Mohar said he went to the resident’s room more than an hour later and found her still undressed and not ready for bed.

He said he was in the middle of setting up her CD player when she attacked him.

Court document files says that Mohar said the resident was crawling on her hands and knees toward him and yelling obscenities and telling him she was going to kill him.

Mohar said he was pinned with his back against the closet and in between two partial walls and couldn’t escape. It was then that he put his foot up and hit the resident in the “jowls” in self-defense.

Files say that one of the officers in the room noticed that Thomas changed the sequence of events and location “several times” during the interview.

Mohar said he had “experiences” with this particular resident since he’d been hired in January. He said there had been 10 previous incidents where she had crawled toward him, cussing and threatening him. He said one time she bit him on the leg and scratched him.

Mohar said he had told his supervisor about issues he had with the resident a few weeks ago, but did not follow protocol and report the incident this time. He said he was in a rush and thought of the event as “just another attack,” files say. At shift change, Mohar reported that everything went well during his shift.

Documents say Mohar admitted he did not do things right and that he should’ve reported the incident at shift change. He wanted the resident to know he was sorry and that he should’ve taken care of things better.

An officer told Mohar about his Montana Highway Patrol warrant and arrested him.

During an interview at the Hill County Detention Center, Mohar added he hit the resident hard enough to knock her backward, where she fell on her butt and hit the recliner, which was five feet away.

Charging documents note that Mohar is 5-foot-11 and 290 pounds, whereas the resident is 4-foot-11 and 159 pounds.

The officer who spoke to Mohar at the detention center went to Northen Montana Hospital to speak to the resident, who was being treated.

Although it was difficult for the resident to communicate because of her mental disability, the document says, she was able to convey that she was upset with Mohar and attacked him by crawling on her hands and knees. The resident admitted to cussing at Mohar, but also said she “did not injure him,” the document says, and adds thats she said Mohar hurt her cheek with his foot.

The officer noticed that the resident had a bruise on her left jaw and injury to her knee. The doctor examining the resident indicated the resident had three linear abrasions and a surrounding contusion on her left jaw.

Executive Director Garnet Bergren at HDAC confirmed today that Mohar is no longer employed at HDAC.