Judge awards $5.2 million for damages in care-home sexual assault

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Judge Richard A. Hughes on Friday awarded the care-dependent person and her legal guardian more than $5.2 million for damages and emotional pain caused by repeated sexual assaults by Andrew Dula III in 2015 and 2016.

Dula, 61, formerly of Shickshinny, was a residential program worker and worked at Community Living, a home in Kingston for patients with disabilities operated by the nonprofit Institute for Human Resources and Services.

Dula was charged by Kingston police with sexually assaulting a then 36-year-old woman who was a patient at Community Living. He was eventually convicted by a Luzerne County jury following a trial before Judge David W. Lupas in February 2019.

Lupas sentenced Dula to nine years and three months to 19 years in state prison on convicted charges of criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual assault of a person with a mental disability, criminal attempt to commit sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a person with a mental disability, aggravated indecent assault, institutional sexual assault, indecent assault and indecent exposure.

Attorney Patrick J. Doyle, of Anzalone & Doyle of Wilkes-Barre, on behalf of the patient and her legal guardian, filed a legal lawsuit in March 2017, against the Institute for Human Resources and Services and Dula, alleging negligence, battery, assault, breach of duty and emotional pain.

As a sealed settlement was reached in June 2019, Dula failed to respond to the civil lawsuit and a default judgement was filed against him in April 2023.

To determine damages responsible by Dula, Judge Hughes held a hearing Friday and ruled in favor of the patient and her legal guardian, awarding $2.250,000 million in physical and emotional pain and $3 million in punitive damages.