The owners of a home for the mentally ill required residents to work in the nude and perform sex acts on each other, a former resident testified Tuesday.
The man said residents worked for years on a “clothing optional” farm in Butler County to pay off expenses from a trip to Florida.
“It never ended,” said the man, identified in court only by his first name because he is a possible sexual assault victim. “We worked year after year and were reminded about that debt.”
Arlan Kaufman, 69, and Linda Kaufman, 62, face more than 30 counts — including health care fraud, forced labor and holding clients in involuntary servitude — related to the treatment of mentally ill residents at the Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center in Newton.
The man testified the Kaufmans sometimes photographed other therapy sessions that included sex acts among residents.
The Kaufmans contend their nude therapy sessions and other treatment methods had therapeutic value for schizophrenic patients, and that having residents act out problem behavior helped them avoid repeating it.
Under cross-examination, the witness said some inappropriate behavior, such as public exposure, ceased after he went through the therapy sessions.
The witness said residents were instructed not to tell others about what happened during the sessions.