A Springfield man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a disabled woman in a nursing home has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Larry Thompson, 42, of E. Southern Ave. in Springfield, pleaded guilty to a charge of gross sexual imposition as part of a plea agreement with the Clark County prosecutor. In exchange, a witness intimidation charge was dropped.

The charges stem from a September incident when Thompson allegedly entered a patient’s room while visiting the Heartland of Springfield nursing home at 2615 Derr Road. According to Springfield police, Thompson entered the 21-year-old woman’s room while she was sleeping and drew the curtain to obstruct the view of the bed. He then kissed and inappropriately touched her, police said.

The woman, who has cerebral palsy as well as developmental disabilities, was unable to defend herself. She reported what happened to a nurse and her roommate corroborated seeing Thompson enter the room, although she said she couldn’t see what happened because of the curtain, said Amy Smith, Clark County assistant prosecutor.

“She was in a very vulnerable position being that she was one, asleep, and two, she lacked the physical strength to actually push him away,” Smith said.

While Thompson apologized in court during his sentencing hearing, he still denied the encounter and claimed he was trying to help the woman in a pre-sentence investigation statement, said Clark County Common Pleas Judge Richard O’Neill. The judge handed down the maximum sentence, citing Thompson’s lack of “genuine remorse” and criminal past involving theft.

O’Neill said the incident “has to be one of the most offensive, one of the most serious ones under this statute” for gross sexual imposition.

Once released from prison, Thompson will have to register as a Tier 1 sex offender and be placed on probation for five years.

Heartland of Springfield officials said they worked with authorities during the investigation and the Ohio Department of Health didn’t find any issues regarding the home’s care or handling of the incident.