Rockwall memory care worker charged with sexual assault on dementia patient
ROCKWALL, Texas - A Rockwall mental care facility worker is facing multiple sexual assault charges after police say he engaged in a sexual relationship with a 67-year-old patient recently diagnosed with dementia.
Rockwall aggravated sexual assault arrest
Zachary Yoakum, 24
What we know:
On Aug. 15, 2026, Rockwall Police arrested 24-year-old Zachary Daylon Yoakum and charged him with four counts of aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony.
Yoakum was arrested after the daughter of a memory care patient reported concerns that a sexual relationship had grown between Yoakum and the patient.
Dig deeper:
An arrest affidavit for Yoakum states that the 67-year-old victim was diagnosed with dementia after a psychosis episode landed her in the hospital in July.
After the victim was discharged, she was placed in the Village Green Memory Care Community Center in Rockwall, where Yoakum was employed.
The victim's daughter found texts and phone calls between the victim and Yoakum, causing her concern. Her mother later made a statement that she and Yoakum were not in a relationship.
The victim was moved to Rock Ridge Assisted Living & Memory Care, a new memory care facility, on Aug. 10. On Aug. 11, an employee at Rock Ridge told the victim's daughter a young man twice attempted to visit her mother.
According to the affidavit, the victim told police Yoakum stated he loved her and wanted to marry her, and gave her code words to disguise their relationship.
The victim admitted to police she and Yoakum had engaged in sexual activity four times. Three of the encounters occurred at Village Green Memory Care, and one occurred after she had been moved to Rock Ridge Assisted Living.
One of the encounters involved Yoakum allegedly putting his hands down the victim's pants in a public garden at a memory care facility.
The victim struggled to remember specific dates due to her dementia, but police were able to deduce the assaults occurred between Aug. 1 to Aug. 10.
What we don't know:
We don't know the victim's name. A psuedonym was used in the arrest affidavit.
The affidavit points to a rape kit being administered, but the results were not specified in the document.
What's next:
Yoakum has been booked into the Rockwall County Jail. His bond has been set at $400,000.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Rockwall Police Department.