Police: Torrance patient raped man in bid to go from state hospital to jail cell
State police accuse a patient at Torrance State Hospital of raping a mentally disabled man there in an effort to be moved to a jail, according to court papers.
Keith Lloyd Saltonstall, 50, formerly of Glenmoore, Chester County, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges of sexual assault, rape of a mentally disabled person and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $2 million bail.
Troopers started investigating in June after a report from officials at the Derry Township facility that Saltonstall offered money to a man in exchange for sex, according to court papers. Saltonstall has been a patient there since 2010 after completing a sentence in a 1989 Chester County rape case. Police said he has a history of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior.
Saltonstall is registered for life as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.
Hospital staff members grew suspicious after receiving a note from a male patient indicating he wanted to be Saltonstall’s roommate. The note appeared to be in Saltonstall’s handwriting, according to court papers. The patient later told a doctor that Saltonstall had promised him money in exchange for sex.
During an interview with troopers, the man said Saltonstall raped him two or three times.
Saltonstall admitted to a doctor that he wanted the patient to become his roommate in an effort to be released from the hospital.
“… so I came up with one solution to solving my discharge problem, which was get arrested for having non-consensual sex with a patient,” he wrote in a note to the doctor, which was included in the police complaint.
Saltonstall, who denied raping the patient during an interview with police, was ordered in September to undergo a forensic examination. His attorney declined to comment.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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