8/25/04 A former employee of a residential treatment program in Santa Barbara was in custody Tuesday on suspicion of raping and impregnating a woman suffering from severe autism.
Darren Boyer Thomas, a former night supervisor at Devereux, was being held in Santa Barbara County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail, according to Sgt. Chris Pappas of the Sheriff's Department. Detectives collected a DNA sample from Thomas that matched the profile from the victim's unborn child, Pappas said.
Thomas, 38, quit Devereux in early 2004, shortly after the adult victim became pregnant, Pappas said. The victim, who was discovered to be five months pregnant in May 2004, was unable to articulate who had assaulted her, he said.
Devereux is a private institution that provides services to disabled individuals and their families.
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