When Maria Thomas was told her autistic son had been raped in the bathroom of his group home the missing piece of a ghastly puzzle fell into place.

Ms Thomas had been haunted by a change in her son Matthew’s behaviour but because he is non-verbal she couldn’t work out what had happened.

“Matty didn’t want me to leave him in the shower, he kept holding my hand,” Ms Thomas says. “His behaviour deteriorated, he didn’t want us to go, he kept saying: ‘Stay, stay’.”

Maria Thomas was devastated to learn of the attacks on her vulnerable son, who is non verbal. Credit:Eddie Jim

Ms Thomas collapsed when she learnt Matthew, who was then 20, had allegedly been raped on April 21, 2015 by another resident of his group home in Westmeadows, which was run by the state-funded disability services provider Autism Plus.