Oregon DHS employee accused of kidnapping woman in his care

A state crisis worker is accused of kidnapping a disabled woman in his care, driving her in a state van to a dead-end road near a cemetery in Aumsville and sexually assaulting her, according to a federal indictment.

Zakary Glover, 28, of Lebanon, a former employee with the Oregon Department of Human Services, faces a two-count federal indictment, charging him with deprivation of rights and kidnapping.

The woman in his care suffers severe autism, has cognitive deficits and is barely verbal, able to communicate mostly through drawings, photos and videos, according to federal prosecutors.

State officials “condemn all acts of abuse and take all allegations of abuse seriously,” said Tom Mayhall Rastrelli, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and the Stabilization and Crisis Unit where Glover worked.

The alleged assault occurred Nov. 2, when Glover, who worked as a crisis specialist, took the woman on an outing in a state van to Taco Bell and then parked along a dead-end road, opened the back passenger door where the woman was seated, pulled down her pants and assaulted her for about five minutes, according to the indictment.

He then drove her back to the state’s Stabilization and Crisis Unit, a 24-hour crisis residential program that serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The criminal charge of deprivation of rights accuses Glover of depriving the woman’s “fundamental right to bodily integrity” by committing attempted aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping .

If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Glover was initially arrested last year on state charges in Marion County, accused of rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and official misconduct. Those charges are still pending. He has remained in custody in the Marion County Jail, held without bail.

Glover was a full-time state employee, who earned a $50, 579 salary in 2019, and worked for the state close to four years, according to state records.

The state’s human services department learned of the allegations on Nov. 12, alerted the state police and placed him on unpaid administrative leave, according to Rastrelli. Glover was fired, effective Jan. 20, according to the state spokesperson.

The FBI, along with Oregon State Police, investigated the case.