Man accused of trying to rape worker at behavioral health facility
A man is in custody after an employee at a behavioral health facility said he assaulted her as she tried to process him.
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She managed to escape. Now, he’s charged with attempted sexual battery.
Karim Reynolds, 27, is being held in the Brevard County Jail without bond for allegedly trying to sexually batter a worker at the Circles of Care on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard.
Melbourne police said video shows a woman attempting to process the suspect into the behavioral health facility when she was grabbed and thrown onto a table.
Reynolds allowed the victim up so he could close the door of the intake office. She was able to press a panic button and escape, according to police.
The incident was the fourth call to Melbourne police from the facility in the past year about an alleged sexual battery. One of those calls was categorized as unfounded.
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There are also dozens of other calls ranging from assaults to trespassing. It’s unclear how many of the calls resulted in actual cases at the facility or elsewhere.
Channel 9 was at the facility in December 2020, when police responded to the shooting of an employee outside of Circles of Care. The victim, Travis Knight, didn’t survive. The suspect, 31-year-old Robert Quackenbush, was found incompetent to stand trial earlier this month.
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In a statement, Circles of Care said:
“Circles of Care can confirm that an alleged assault occurred at one of our facilities on Sunday. This was an isolated incident and the suspect is in police custody. Circles of Care is conducting an internal investigation as to the factual circumstances giving rise to the assault, while also cooperating with the ongoing law enforcement investigation. Given the ongoing nature of the investigations, Circles of Care does not have any further comment at this time beyond stating that the safety and well-being of our staff and patients has always been, and will always be, our foremost concern.”
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