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As a result, he was still on the job the night of May 28. That’s when he left the apartment of his disabled South Side client, James Monroe, and raped a neighbor, police said.

According to a report from the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Quintero told his employer that he had consensual sex with Monroe’s 49-year-old neighbor. Police said the victim told them she has throat cancer and couldn’t scream.

“How could somebody like this be working among the disabled?” asked Lisa Canterbury, a friend of Monroe, 63, and his family. “There was a warrant out for his arrest.”

Quintero, 25, of 333 Wellington Willows Way on the South Side, had been indicted in Clark County Common Pleas Court in May on a firearms charge for driving with a loaded shotgun. Springfield police arrested him June 27.

Quintero was returned to Columbus and appeared Friday in Franklin County Municipal Court on the rape charge. Judge Paul Herbert ordered him held in lieu of $300,000 cash or surety bond.

Anthony Wayne Services, an Indiana-based company that contracts with the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to provide services such as home care for the disabled, fired Quintero upon learning of the rape accusation, spokeswoman Barbara Wachtman said.

Asked about Quintero’s previous convictions, she said she couldn’t comment because of the pending investigation.

According to an internal investigation and report by the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Quintero likely hadn’t been an acceptable caregiver for at least a year.

Monroe’s family provided a copy of the report, which says Quintero had a “disqualifying offense for working in the MRDD field” when he was indicted in Franklin County Common Pleas Court two years ago on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of a firearm. Quintero pleaded guilty last year to reduced misdemeanor versions of the charges.

The report also said that Quintero neglected Monroe and did not give him his medications.

Rose Tackett, Monroe’s younger sister, said the state and companies it hires should be more vigilant about updating the backgrounds of those who work with vulnerable Ohioans. Requiring caregivers to report themselves doesn’t cut it, she said.

“Why can’t they take one of their employees on down time and tell them to pull some people up” on online court documents, Tackett said. “It’s all right there if you look.”

The state maintains an abuser registry that seeks to keep bad caregivers from job-hopping, but that doesn’t necessarily catch workers whose offenses are unknown to administrators or occur outside of their jobs.

State officials have discussed background updates, but no changes have been proposed, said Sherry Steinman, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Under current guidelines, care providers who pass background checks sign a contract promising to report future violations.

State education officials strengthened background checks for their workers in 2007, requiring updates every five years for all licensed educators and unlicensed workers such as secretaries and food-service employees. School-bus drivers now face background checks twice a year, and arrests trigger an immediate alert to employers.

Jed Morison, superintendent of the Franklin County MRDD board, said he isn’t aware of past problems with Anthony Wayne Services.

“Generally, we’re very fortunate to have many good providers,” Morison said. “Sometimes, things are going to happen. The issue is, how do we respond?”

Both Tackett and Canterbury said they think families should do all they can to know about those who are trusted to care for their loved ones.

Monroe was distraught after the incident and police investigation. “He cries,” Tackett said.

As of yesterday, Quintero still was listed in the state’s online database of MRDD care providers.

rprice@dispatch.com