Local Group Home Owner Pleads Guilty To Criminal Abuse

A 63-year-old Montgomery woman and owner of several area group homes recently pled guilty to gross misdemeanor criminal abuse, involving sexual relations with a vulnerable adult who was a client at one of her homes.

Paula Beulke the owner, and chief executive of Blossom Hill Corporation and Sunrise Farms, pled guilty March 5 to one of three counts filed against her, including engaging in sexual contact or penetration with a resident, patient or client. The other two counts were dropped.

According to the criminal complaint, an investigation conducted by the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the victim was identified as a "vulnerable adult" who was a resident at Sunrise Farms when the sexual relationship began sometime in April 2016. The relationship between the two lasted through November of 2017 when a mandated court reporter who worked at Sunrise Farms approached Beulke about the apparent favoritism that was shown to the victim and accused Beulke of having an inappropriate relationship with the victim.

Beulke was sentenced to three days in the county jail, and two years probation.

According to the New Prague Times, Beulke received a stay of adjudication, which was recommended by probation as part of the pre-sentence investigation process. This means that if Beulke successfully completes probation she will not have to register as a sex offender. A requirement of Beulke’s probation is that she must remain law-abiding, have no contact with vulnerable adults, have no contact with the victim, complete a psycho-sexual assessment and follow all recommendations stemming from the assessment.

Blossom Hill Corporation according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services website still has an active license in Montgomery.