Elder abuse on the rise in Florida

Lillian Moses

SANFORD — In a hospital bed, Lillian Moses, 95, was wheeled into the courtroom of Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr.

The judge asked about her grandson, Thomas Keefe White, who is charged with physically abusing and neglecting her.

They used to live together, but she was moved to a hospital, then a long-term care facility, after authorities discovered in January that she had a broken leg, bed sores and an infection.

White had hit her, she told investigators in January, and although she was bedridden, he had left her alone for several days at a time. He was careful, she said, to leave her a bottle of water, some crackers and Ensure, according to his arrest warrant.

After the May 13 hearing, White's lawyer said White did not abuse Moses, adding that she made those allegations while she was on medication that had left her confused.

The judge asked Moses where she wants to live now: She could stay in the nursing facility, where she's cared for by aides, or she could move back home and have White, who is free on bond, take care of her while he awaits trial.

"I just want to go home," she told the judge.

Moses is not the first elderly person who has asked to be put back in the care of someone who's accused of abusing her, Lester said.

No federal agency keeps detailed, comprehensive national data on the number of elderly people who are abused and neglected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but dozens of social service and government agencies track what happens on the state and local level.  (Continue Reading)

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Elder abuse on the rise in Florida