Virginia man pleads guilty to raping 2 disabled women

SPRINGFIELD, Va. – A former employee of a Virginia non-profit for disabled individuals has pleaded guilty to raping and impregnating two women with mental disabilities.

News outlets report 61-year-old Bernard Betts King pleaded guilty Tuesday in Fairfax County Court. He was charged with “raping a woman through the use of her mental incapacity” from his time as a behavioural technician at the MVLE community centre. The organization’s website says it helps disabled individuals find jobs.

The Washington Post reports a prosecutor said doctors learned of the rapes upon examining the women and discovering each was about five months pregnant. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney George Freeman IV said neither woman comprehended what it meant to be pregnant because of their disabilities and had trouble communicating with doctors.

King could face life in prison at sentencing Nov. 1.