Investigators looking into charges of abuse at a collection of San Bernardino-area group homes arrested the director of one of the homes on Friday after discovering he was on probation for elder abuse and had been ordered to stay away from such facilities, officials said today.
Tony Dalton, 40, was taken into custody for violating conditions of his probation after initially refusing entry to investigators checking on conditions of the house, said San Bernardino City Atty. James Penman.
Dalton is the son of Pensri Sophar Dalton, 61, who was arrested Sept. 5 on 16 charges of elder abuse after police raided an unlicensed board and care facility where 22 elderly and mentally ill tenants lived in squalor. They had no plumbing, lived in converted backyard chicken coops and some used buckets for toilets. One man reported being physically abused by the staff.
Authorities are now looking into conditions at seven other group homes owned by Pensri Sophar Dalton in and around San Bernardino.
Dalton was convicted last year of causing great bodily harm to an elderly or dependent person and served three months in jail, Penman said. The probation department would not comment on the nature of the crime, but Dalton was forbidden to work as a caretaker for the elderly or dependent adults.
Pensri Dalton is also the target of a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who drowned in a pool while living in one of her group homes.
Full Article and Source:
Director of San Bernardino-Area Group Home Arrested
See also:
Seniors Found Living In Dire Conditions
8 comments:
Amazing. Most likely, Pensri was arrested and his son convicted under California Penal Code 368. This criminal statute is very similar to the civil statutes under the Welfare & Institutions Code (Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act). Hopefully, the District Attorney investigators will uncover all facts, including the source and amounts of payment received from each elderly resident. Discovery also must be directed to family members and friends to identify what, if any, involvment they had in placing the victim in such a terrible environment. Sometimes, a greedy family member will wrongly obtain a power of attorney and/or become the "representative payee" of their parent's social security payment, and divert (steal) the parent's income and assets. To cover this up, mom or dad needs to be isolated and warehoused into an environment with no contact from the outside world. Hopefully, the DA Office will devote its limited resources to dig down deep into these facts and root out all of the crooks. http://www.elder-law-advocate.com/
I hope this case exposes the truth, the ugly truth of what is going on, what people are capable of doing for one reason: $$$$$$ profit.
There is a lot to this story, they will need a muckraker to get through the sewage of this matter.
I pray there is a special place in HELL but til then all involved must be caged for the rest of their lives.
No mercy!
George, guardians isolating from family and friends is becoming more and more common.
Family is rendered impotent to help their loved one as they are abused, some physically via psychotropic drugs, etc. Instead, family has to watch and suffer.
I wonder what will become of these poor, innocent people.
You're right on target, Anonymous1, it's all about the big P as in PROFIT.
I hope this case receives national attention. People need to know what happened here and pause their comfortable lives to think about the people who have suffered - and why.
Both of them - Pensri Sophar Dalton and Tony Dalton should be locked up for the rest of their natural lives.
Apparantly, staff was involved too. Same punishment for them is appropriate.
I am absolutely outraged!
Please continue to follow this important story, NASGA, even though it's so hard to read.
My prayers are with these victims.
Mr. Dickerman, you're right that greedy family members to take over their parents to get their social security, etc.
But, I think the general perception is wrong.
MOST children don't do that. The actual percentage isn't as high as media (and organizations like the NGA) would have us believe.
Most family members are not greedy.
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