Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A man with mental retardation was critically injured Saturday when he was sexually assaulted by another resident at the Austin State School, police said Monday afternoon.

The attack on the 23-year-old, whose name was not released, happened in a communal shower area, said Brian Loyd, a sergeant with the Austin Police Department's sex crimes unit. The victim was at Seton Medical Center on Monday in critical but stable condition, he said.

The suspect, a man in his 20s, has not been charged and is still at the Austin State School. Loyd said he did not know how the suspect was being supervised by staffers.

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services would not provide additional information about the situation, spokeswoman Laura Albrecht said.

"An incident did occur at the Austin State School this past weekend and was promptly reported per policy to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services," Albrecht wrote in an e-mail.

Adult Protective Services, the state agency that investigates abuse allegations involving the elderly or adults who are disabled, is looking into the case.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services was called to Austin State School's campus on West 35th Street at 8:44 p.m., EMS spokesman Warren Hassinger said. The hospital called the Police Department shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, Loyd said.

Saturday's incident was the 12th sexual assault call from the Austin State School to police between July 21, 2007, and Sunday. Of the 41 calls that the Police Department received from the facility during the past year, sexual assaults were the most common. The remainder include requests for help with assaults, suspicious people, nonemergency EMS needs and theft.

The incident is the latest blow to the system of 13 state-funded facilities that care for almost 5,000 people with mental retardation.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating allegations of abuse and neglect at the Denton State School. In late 2006, another Justice Department investigation found widespread abuse and neglect at the Lubbock State School.

In response to the Lubbock inquiry, officials from the Department of Aging and Disability Services said they hired new employees, improved training and reduced the use of restraints.

Last week, the state auditor's office released a report showing that state school officials had hired at least 10 people with a history of abuse, neglect and exploitation. Officials from Aging and Disability Services fired those employees after being notified about the situation.

For years, advocates and family members have battled over the possibility of closing state schools. Some parents say they are happy with the care that the schools provide. Others say many people with mental retardation should live in small group homes or local facilities, which are less expensive and offer more freedom.

The incident at the Austin State School is just another reason that the schools should be closed, said Jeff Garrison-Tate, a disabilities rights activist with the nonprofit group Community Now.

"I just continue to be stunned by the horrific violations that are happening in these facilities," he said.

Nancy Ward, whose 46-year-old daughter lives in the Denton State School, has been an advocate of keeping the schools open. She said her daughter loves the activities and has done well because of the personal attention. But the sexual assault allegations in Austin are scary for all parents, she said.

"It's tragic," Ward said. "I hate to hear something like this. It's bad for both sides."