Child porn suspect served as court-appointed guardian

ELYRIA — A man who was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges has a long history of working around children, from being a former Juvenile Court magistrate to — more recently — a court-appointed guardian.

Former court magistrate James Paterson, 49, of Lorain, was charged Tuesday with receiving child pornography after FBI investigators discovered “hundreds” of sexually explicit images of children on his computer.

Paterson worked as a magistrate for Judge David Berta with the Lorain County Juvenile Court from 2007 to 2013, when he left and took a position as a guardian ad litem for the court, according to Jody Barilla, court administrator for Lorain County Domestic Relations Court.

A guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to represent children in certain domestic cases — often guardianship cases or delinquency cases where there is an issue between a child and parent.

Guardians ad litem often interview the children they’re assigned to work with, whether alone or with a parent, before making a recommendation to the court on the case, Barilla said.

To become a guardian ad litem, candidates have to go through training and a background check.

Since taking the job in February 2013, Paterson has worked with 21 children, according to Barilla. Most of his cases were delinquency cases, Barilla said, meaning that Paterson would have been working more frequently with teenagers.

At the time he was arrested Tuesday, Paterson was active as a guardian and had four open cases, Barilla said.

The arrest came as a result of at least four months of investigation during which the FBI discovered Paterson was frequenting child pornography sites and leaving comments identifying himself as a pedophile, according to a complaint filed Monday by the FBI in the U.S. District Court.

The online activity led investigators to search Paterson’s house Monday where they found a computer with hundreds of images of children from newborn to 6 years old being sexually abused, according to the FBI.

Paterson, who was home at the time, admitted to authorities to having a collection of between 500 to 1,000 sexually explicit images of children.

“Paterson admitted to posting comments online in which he self-identified himself as a pedophile and to sexually abusing children,” the complaint stated.

After his arrest, however, Paterson said he never physically abused any children.

Special Agent Kelly Liberti, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland FBI, said she couldn’t comment Friday whether the FBI is conducting an investigation into Paterson’s interactions with children during his time as a guardian ad litem.

Paterson was in federal custody Wednesday and is scheduled to have a detention hearing at 2 p.m. Monday at the U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

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Child porn suspect served as court-appointed guardian

Shades of gray complicate the battle against elder abuse

As an entertainer, Mickey Rooney loved to leave ‘em laughing. But the Hollywood legend’s final act played out more like a tragedy — marred by the financial elder abuse he divulged in testimony before Congress.

A longtime Thousand Oaks resident, Rooney died in April three years ago at age 93. Although the original teen idol made more than 300 films and reportedly was pulling down $65,000 a week during the three-year Broadway run of “Sugar Babies” in the early 1980s, his net worth at his death totaled $18,000.

“If elder abuse happened to me, it can happen to anyone," Rooney told the Senate Special Committee on Aging in 2011.

During his testimony the star alternated between head-in-hands despair and raised-fist defiance.

“I am now taking steps to right all the wrongs that were committed against me,” he told the senators.

But the plot thickened for Rooney, whose story shows the complexity of proving this crime against our most vulnerable citizens.

To use his own catchphrase, Rooney could put on a show when he was spotted out and about in Ventura County, whether he was spooning out frozen yogurt at his TCBY franchise, holding court at the counter in the old Lupe’s Mexican Restaurant on Thousand Oaks Boulevard or playing the ponies in the Derby Club at the county fairgrounds.

Acting luminary Sir Laurence Olivier called Rooney “the best single film actor America ever produced” and that might explain how he covered up turmoil in his personal life — some of his own making, what with the serial marriages and multiple addictions.

But in 2011, Rooney’s court-appointed conservator sought a restraining order against the actor’s stepson Christopher Aber, alleging financial elder abuse. Rooney entrusted his personal and business affairs to Aber, the son of his eighth wife, Jan.

Rooney later filed suit against Aber, alleging he cleaned out millions from Rooney’s accounts, left him in the dark about his finances and denied him food and medicine.

In October 2013, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement where Aber agreed to pay $2.8 million.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigated Rooney’s claims of financial abuse but never pressed charges. Aber denies any wrongdoing. He never paid the settlement, and Rooney’s conservator has yet to restore the assets that vanished.

“What is clear: One of the biggest stars of all time who remained aloft longer than anyone in Hollywood history was in the end brought down by those closest to him,” wrote Gary Baum and Scott Feinberg in their award-winning 2015 investigation into Rooney’s elder-abuse claims that ran in The Hollywood Reporter.

Rooney’s is far from the only case where allegations of financial elder abuse proved tough to pin down. I recently wrote about a Thousand Oaks couple in their 80s who lost their home when their grandson allegedly borrowed heavily against it, defaulted on the payments and tried to sell it out from under them. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is investigating but no charges have been filed.

Getting the elderly even to report abuse is complicated by emotions because their abusers are almost always someone in their circle of trust, said Deborah Sutherland-Hocamp, a long-time volunteer for Grey Law, which provides free legal services to people older than 60.

“I’d hear ‘I don’t want my son to get into trouble,’” she said.

Financial elder abuse can be as serious as physical violence, Sutherland-Hocamp maintains.

“Loss of money is a death warrant in Ventura County,” she said.

With the sky-high cost of housing here, the average Social Security benefit of $1,100 to $1,200 gets eaten up on rent. If a senior is robbed of other assets, nothing remains to buy food or medicine.

It is estimated by 2030 more than 28 percent of Ventura County’s population will be 60 or older; that’s way up from nearly 17 percent in 2011.

Ventura County already has one of the state’s highest rates of domestic violence in all age groups — twice the state average — based on the number of 9-1-1 calls residents place for protection from abuse by someone close to them.

A coalition of law enforcement officers, county agencies and nonprofits propose creating the Ventura County Family Justice Center to streamline services to victims, The Star reported last week.

The elderly, who tend to be less mobile, especially could benefit from the convenience of accessing services under one roof.

It’s going to take money and will to get the center up and running. But if we are to help seniors who are suffering in silence as you read this, we are going to have to put on more than a show.

Full Article & Source:
Shades of gray complicate the battle against elder abuse

Couple gets probation on exploitation of elder charge

A Floyd County judge sentenced a man and woman to a year of probation after they took an elderly man’s disability check to pay for their own utility bills and buy mice to feed their pet snake, while he remained in his apartment with the power cut off.

Joshua Adam McCurry and Sheryl Lynn Norris were both sentenced by Judge Jack Niedrach to the term of probation on Wednesday after they were found guilty of felony exploitation of an elder or disabled person along with restitution of $136.

According to police reports and testimony presented in court:

Norris originally applied to receive Tommy Mills’ disability check but was turned down by the agency, so she reapplied with the information of her then­-boyfriend, McCurry. The two spent money on tools, their own utility bills and other items during the 15 months they received the victim’s disability check, police said.

During that time his power had been turned off multiple times and his cable was turned off, so he now watches DVDs because he can’t afford to pay the over $600 cable bill left unpaid by Norris and McCurry, his niece Beth Rose said.

The victim has a brain injury, Rose said, and is physically disabled, limited to his apartment by his disabilities.

“My uncle was a victim longer than the offenders were sentenced,” Rose said after the sentencing.

In his closing arguments, James Wyatt, who represented Norris in trial, said he presented a budget to the jury which showed his client provided for Mills and included services, such as haircuts, far in excess of what Mills’ disability check provided.

As part of the Floyd County Police Department’s investigation, detective Amy Nails said they tracked payment receipts for items they determined were not purchased to assist the victim and linked them to Norris and McCurry.

“There were two times he was living without power while they were feeding his pet snake and paying for their utilities with his funds,” Nails said.

At one point, Nails said, McCurry got arrested and Norris continued to accept the payments and use them for her own gain.

Rose, who takes care of the victim now, said she has been able to pay his bills and even have a little left over each month. While she’s taken over and her uncle is taken care of at this point, they’re still dealing with problems caused by the crime.

Full Article & Source:
Couple gets probation on exploitation of elder charge

Disciplined Milton lawyer charged widow client more than $400,000

A Milton attorney reprimanded by the Florida Bar is accused of charging her widow client more than $400,000 over a decade in fees for activities like doctor's appointments and planning the woman's birthday party.

Jennifer Byrom, a practicing attorney since 1984, had been working with her client since 1998, when the client's husband died and left her with a $1.5 million estate. The Florida Bar's complaint against Byrom claimed the attorney was listed as a voluntary guardian of the woman's property after convincing the widow that her daughter would be a bad choice because she lived out of state.

Byrom did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

The Florida Bar's complaint claims Byrom didn't provide the client with an explanation of fees she would charge for maintaining the woman's property and her legal work, and immediately began to perform activities outside the scope of the duties of the guardian of the property. Byrom began to charge $180 to $250 per hour for her time, and $60 to $80 per hour for her staff's time for work such as discussing her client's medical condition with doctors, reviewing her mail, visiting socially and taking her to doctor's appointments. She charged $85 per hour for a member of her staff to do yard work, clean the client's house and paint the porch, for example.

Byrom also charged the guardianship for activities such as attending visitation and the funeral of her client's son, visiting her on her birthday, throwing her birthday parties, sitting for hours in a hospital waiting room while her client was in surgery and taking food and gifts to her client's home. The complaint claimed that Byrom charged the guardianship as though legal services were being performed, as well as charging for expenses such as mileage and meals.

This inaccurate accounting prevented the court from having the ability to determine that no conflict of interest existed between Byrom and her client, according to the Florida Bar complaint.

When the client's son died in the summer of 2007, the client's daughter started receiving copies of Byrom's paperwork showing the legal charges. At that point, the complaint states, the fees increased from $1,550 for May of that year to $12,000 the next month, and they continued to climb thereafter.

The daughter tried for two years to change guardianship to herself after her mother was declared incapacitated, but Byrom fought back. During proceedings, the court learned that Byrom failed to inform the court that in 1998 she had prepared, and had in her possession, the original of a Declaration Naming Preneed Guardian, in which her client named her daughter preneed guardian in the event her mother was found incompetent.

In 2009, the client's daughter was named guardian of her mother's person and property. In 2013, the daughter accepted a confidential settlement against Byrom.

Byrom entered a conditional guilty plea to the Florida Bar's accusations in November, saying she would recognize the guilt and accept a public reprimand, and she would complete continuing education credits. The Florida Bar accepted those conditions in a Jan. 26 court order and released its public reprimand list March 31.

Full Article & Source:
Disciplined Milton lawyer charged widow client more than $400,000

Mother dies in nursing home after nurse allegedly reads chart wrong

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — A family is suing an Illinois nursing home, alleging a nurse at the facility is to blame for the death of a loved one.

The family says their mother was supposed to be resuscitated, but a nurse read the paperwork wrong and nobody even attempted CPR.

52-year-old Kim Cencula was only supposed to be at a nursing home for a few weeks to regain her strength after getting pneumonia.

“I feel like they took my mom away from me,” says daughter Morgan Cencula. “I know that if she wouldn’t have gone there she would be with me here today.”

Kim suffered from diabetes and kidney failure. So she went to the Warren Barr nursing home in Highland Park where she could get better.

On March 29, 2016, a nurse found her “lifeless and not breathing” just after 4 a.m.

Surveillance video has been obtained from the nursing home.

“We have three people going in and out of that room in over 30 minutes,” says Tara Devine, attorney for the family. “During this 30 minutes, not one person calls 911, not one person calls a code blue, not one person administers CPR.”

In a lawsuit filed by the family, they allege the nurse misread the chart.

“You literally check a box to say yes you want to be resuscitated or no you do not,” Devine says.

Kim was supposed to be given CPR, but instead, the family says, she was left alone in her room.

Police reports show the nurse called 911 about 30 minutes after she found Kim unresponsive. But by the time paramedics arrived, it was too late.

Now the family says they want to warn others.

The Illinois Dept of Public Health investigated the nursing home after Kim died. Residents now have to wear a pink bracelet if they do not want to be revived.

Warren Barr issued a statement on the incident:

Warren Barr North Shore maintains the highest standards of care for our patients. The death of any of our residents is cause for both sadness and concern. We wish to express our deepest condolences to the family of Kimberly Cencula on her passing. Unfortunately, in a setting such as ours, we often treat very sick people with both chronic and even fatal diseases.

While we cannot comment specifically regarding Kimberly’s medical condition due to privacy laws and the lawsuit her family recently filed, we can say that we respectfully disagree with all of the allegations that have been made in the lawsuit. Our nursing staff is highly competent and provides the highest level of care to all of our residents, especially to those who are at the end of their lives.

Kimberly received the highest level of care throughout her stay at Warren Barr North Shore. We disagree with the allegation that our nursing staff’s handling of Kimberly’s care and treatment somehow caused Kimberly’s death. While we do not invite litigation, we do look forward to the opportunity to defend ourselves within the context of the lawsuit the family has elected to file.

Full Article & Source:
Mother dies in nursing home after nurse allegedly reads chart wrong

A Startling Cause of Misdiagnosed Dementia

The Kaiser Foundation recently reported that the average senior is taking six prescription drugs daily. Many add one or two new prescriptions to their daily routine each year, and often, the senior and the senior loved one’s family do not fully understand which pill does what, when to take each pill or what side effects to look out for.

Learn more about how this can lead to a misdiagnosis of illness, and even, medication induced Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

 

How Medication Side Effects Can Masquerade as Dementia

Drug interactions and side effects often mimic the symptoms of age-related cognitive disorders. For instance, drugs that affect cognition and mobility, such as anti-anxiety meds, can make dementia symptoms worse — or even create a facade of dementia in people who don’t suffer from the disease, a condition known as pseudodementia.

For instance, many anti-anxiety drugs commonly prescribed to seniors such as Valium and Xanax, have side effects that are indistinguishable from Alzheimer’s or dementia, including:

• Short-term memory loss
• Disinhibition
• Hallucinations

Other medications can also cause pseudodementia, including cholesterol lowering statin drugs like Lipitor, which many seniors take. In fact, any medicine that can cause cognitive impairment could lead to a misdiagnosis of dementia. Classes of drugs including anti-histamines, antibiotics, corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, antiemetics, muscle relaxants and opioid pain killers all carry this risk.

While the right medicine can reverse the course of serious diseases and improve a senior’s quality of life immeasurably, medications also cause problems. We received this comment on our Senior Living Blog, which is worth quoting:

“My mother was fading fast. In the course of two months, she went from needing general assistance to not being able to stand or assist with her own transfers… Over the course of about three weeks, she had deteriorated to the point where she could not take her medications. Without meds, she regained her mind and most of her mobility. It came down to the medications she was on. We began reintroducing them one at a time with minimal doses for the most important issues. If we saw a return of symptoms of dementia, we would reverse course and she would come right back. It has made me wonder how many of our elderly end up in homes, or deteriorate catastrophically because they are on too much medication. ”

Senior Living and Medication Care Plans

For many seniors, a move to an assisted living community can help get this medication chaos under control. Most assisted living communities require that residents have a doctor’s visit before admission. Families and physicians often use this visit as an opportunity to “press the reset button” on prescriptions. A complete reassessment of the senior’s medication regime can take place at this time. Under doctor’s supervision, many seniors are able to go off of medicines that are redundant or have outgrown their usefulness.

Once a senior is admitted to assisted living, a care plan is put in place. Care plans lay out goals and strategies for the resident’s care, and medicines are a big part of the equation. The community, family, senior and medical professionals discuss what medicines will be given to the resident, why, and often set goals for reducing them. In fact, seniors, particularly those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, are often able to reduce their medications after moving to assisted living communities with memory care.

In fact, many seniors who have been prescribed anti-anxiety medications find themselves in an undignified stupor that’s not only painful for loved ones to witness, but also can lead to falls, head injuries and broken bones. Today’s memory care communities attempt to reduce this agitation and anxiety non-chemically, with methods such as:

• Purposefully designing communities to make people with memory loss feel comfortable
• Using therapy which reduces a senior’s blood pressure, improves mood and decreases anxiety
• Encouraging family visits and community involvement

Loren Shook, CEO of Silverado Senior Living, which specializes in memory care, confirms that many residents who move to Silverado communities are able to significantly reduce their medicine intake, and with great benefit.

Medication Management and Healthy Senior Living

While decreasing the amount of prescribed medications is ideal, it’s not always possible. In some cases, seniors require every medicine they’re prescribed. But even in these cases, assisted living plays an important role. Even if medicines can’t be reduced, it’s important that that they be taken correctly. Medication management, which is offered at nearly all assisted living communities, assures that seniors get the right medicine, at the right dose, at the right time. For seniors with multiple medicines, or with memory loss, this benefit alone can be a lifesaver.

If your older loved one is on multiple medicines, or is showing changes that you believe may be related to drug interactions, arrange a doctor’s visit to reevaluate medications. Talk to the doctor about what medicines are essential, and which may be doing more harm than good.

If your older loved one cannot take medication safely, and you can’t be there to help, consider memory care or residential home care. Our Senior Living Advisors can help your family find the most appropriate options for loved one.

Full Article & Source:
A Startling Cause of Misdiagnosed Dementia

Full Measure Will Run Segment on Guardianship Abuse

Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson is one of the most revered and respected reporters at the national level. NASGA is pleased to announce we have been working with “Full Measure” on the subject of guardianship abuse for nearly a year and a half --- and the case subsequently chosen by Full Measure will be the subject of Full Measure’s April 9 show.

It’s a very high profile case and you will be both outraged and astounded!

Click HERE to watch the teaser for the show - you won't want to miss it!

UPDATE: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

UPDATE APRIL 5: April Lynn Parks was a private, professional guardian appointed by Clark County Family Court to protect hundreds of vulnerable people.

Parks admitted to Contact 13's Darcy Spears on camera in 2015 that she made major mistakes with her client's money, including in one case, charging an elderly woman $108 for a pair of stretch pants.

Parks was the ringleader of a small group employed by her. They've all been indicted for draining the accounts of those they were supposed to care for while isolating them from their families.

Parks faces more than 200 felony criminal charges for racketeering, theft, exploitation and perjury.

She was arrested in Pennsylvania on March 8, extradited to Las Vegas and booked into Clark County Detention Center Tuesday.

Contact 13's investigation helped lead the way for reform in the guardianship system and the criminal case against Parks.

That came just in time as we uncovered in court documents that Parks was about to expand her business and hire more staff. She'd gotten a contract with Valley Health System's six Las Vegas hospitals, which would make her the first choice to refer patients for guardianship services.  

There's no telling how many of those potential referrals could have fallen victim to the alleged crimes Parks and her associates are charged with. Valley Health Systems declined to comment.

Contact 13 requested an on-camera interview with April Parks at the jail but haven't heard back. And we tried to reach her attorney but his voicemail was full.

UPDATE MARCH 27: Mark Simmons is now behind bars in Las Vegas. Simmons faces 134 felony criminal charges including racketeering, exploitation of the elderly and theft. 

He was extradited from Indiana and booked into Clark County Detention Center this weekend. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday. 

UPDATE MARCH 14: Private for profit guardian April Parks is now behind bars. She and three others were indicted last week for running a criminal enterprise involving theft and exploitation.

Court records show Parks disregarded her duty as a guardian, treating the vulnerable as "cash cows."

In one example, Parks and her business partner Mark Simmons profited from a scam where they bought Christmas gifts for their wards, such as popcorn, socks and other small items. When the wards received the gifts, they were charged at a hourly rate of $100 per hour.

Clients were also billed when Parks' husband Gary Taylor drove to the courthouse and waited in line to file papers that could have been submitted online.

UPDATE MARCH 09: April Parks was arrested by local police in East Goshen Township, PA.

The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department charged Parks with being a fugitive from justice and she was arraigned.  Her bail was set at $500,000 dollars.  Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison pending extradition to Clark County, Nevada.

ORIGINAL STORY

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- What started with a Contact 13 investigation has led to hundreds of felony charges against four suspects for the way authorities say they treated people in their care.

This is the latest move in cases involving more than 150 victims and nearly $560,000 in stolen money.

It's the most significant guardianship exploitation indictment in Nevada's history -- so says Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in what authorities hope will wipe out a long-standing crime wave in our state.

Cheers and fist pumps erupted in the Regional Justice Center lobby from a crowd of people who haven't had much to celebrate over the last few years.

On Wednesday, they went from victim to victor as April Parks, the woman who they say stole everything from their loved ones, was indicted.

"Today, law enforcement sends a clear message to those who take advantage of our most vulnerable citizens," said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

Contact 13 first exposed April Lynn Parks in early 2015 when she told Darcy Spears, "I do it because I love it," in reference to her work as a private, professional guardian.

Guardians are appointed by the court to protect and serve their wards. They're entrusted with every aspect of a person's life, including their health care and their money.

"I can't imagine a class of people more susceptible to criminals than wards of a court," said Wolfson.

Parks, her husband Gary Taylor, her attorney Noel Palmer Simpson and her office manager Mark Simmons are together facing 270 felony counts of perjury, racketeering, filing false records, theft and exploitation.

The charges involve more than 150 victims who've lost more than half a million dollars.

Authorities say Parks and her co-defendants used a position of trust and authority to prey on disabled, vulnerable people ranging in age from 40 to 90, and systematically bilk them out of their life savings.

"I've never been so happy in my life! All the thousands of hours and dollars I put into this was not in vain," said Elizabeth Indig, whose mother was one of Parks' wards.

So were Julie Belshe's parents -- Rudy and Rennie North. Contact 13 broke their story in February 2015.

"When I reached out to you I was very traumatized," said Belshe. "I didn't know what to do!"

As for Wednesday's indictments, Belshe says, "It restored my faith in the people, in the justice system -- that there are good people in our system that are working and they're on our side -- the citizens' side. Because you start to think, who's going to believe me? Because you tell these stories and they're unbelievable!"

"I really think this is going to send a very strong message to the other guardians and the attorneys and the judges who aided and abetted her in this," said Indig. "And I think maybe Nevada will be clean of this crime and people can move here and retire without fear of losing everything."

Contact 13 will have more on the Family Court system's role in all this as the report continues on Thursday.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, all four defendants had been arrested in law enforcement actions across the country.

April Parks was arrested by local police in East Goshen Township, PA.

The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department charged Parks with being a fugitive from justice and she was arraigned.  Her bail was set at $500,000.00 dollars.  Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison pending extradition to Clark County, Nevada.

Full Article & Source:
UPDATE: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

Woman pleads guilty in Las Vegas to exploitation charge

A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the charge of exploitation of a vulnerable person and admitted stealing nearly $40,000.

Susan Rousselle, 64, mishandled the special needs trust account of Jason Hanson, who is disabled and a wheelchair user, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Clark County district attorney’s office.

Rousselle was Hanson’s legal guardian when he was ages 16 to 18. She was appointed the trustee of his account after he turned 18, according to the statement.

At her court appearance Tuesday, Rousselle paid full restitution in the amount of $39,076.60, according to the statement.

Exploitation of a vulnerable person is a probational offense that carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years. Rousselle is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 1.

Full Article & Source:
Woman pleads guilty in Las Vegas to exploitation charge

See Also:
CONTACT 13: Another guardian charged with abuse

Scarbro couple charged with exploitation, embezzlement

Police arrested the caretakers of a disabled Scarbro man for allegedly stealing his monthly income and running up debt using his identity, Fayette County Sheriff Mike Fridley reported Monday.

Jeremy Jay Wriston, 33, and Janice JoAnn Wriston, 33, both of Scarbro, were charged with financial exploitation of an incapacitated adult and embezzlement by a fiduciary, following a police investigation, Fridley said.

Both are felony charges, and the victim is a relative, he added.

According to the sheriff, his office was notified Feb. 9 that the couple, then in the area of Paint Creek Road near Scarbro, had been misusing and misappropriating the funds of a physically and mentally challenged adult.

Police investigated and learned that the Wristons had promised to provide care for the male victim and assist with his daily needs. They had moved into the victim’s house in March 2016.

There was no indication that the suspects physically abused the victim, Fridley said, but they allegedly misappropriated several thousand dollars of his Social Security and disability income and disposed of some of his personal property.

Police alleged in criminal complaints that the Wristons also used the victim’s identity to run up debt.
Both suspects were arrested earlier Monday and each was released on a $10,000 bond following their arraignments in Fayette County Magistrate Court.

“The abuse or financial exploitation of the elderly or of mentally incapacitated adults is something we take very seriously,” said Fridley. “Just as we do with our children, we have a duty and obligation to protect these elderly and vulnerable members of our communities.

“The abuse or financial exploitation of our older citizens is simply unacceptable and any such conduct reported to the Sheriff’s Office will be thoroughly investigated and, if warranted by the investigation, criminal charges will be filed,” he added.

The incident remains under investigation by Fridley’s office.

Full Article & Source:
Scarbro couple charged with exploitation, embezzlement

'Horrifying' Video Shows Former Suffern Nurse Abusing Paralyzed Patient

Dorothea Harvilik

SUFFERN, N.Y. -- "Horrifying images" captured on video show a former Suffern registered nurse slapping and roughing up a paralyzed, ventilator-dependent patient she was hired to care for in his home, authorities said Tuesday.

Dorothea Harvilik, 64, who's since moved to Saddle River, N.J., faces up to 18 months in state prison if convicted of assaulting the 23-year-old patient, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

Footage of the abuse was captured by a hidden video camera set up by the man's mother, who suspected her son was being mistreated, Porrino said.

The video, and other caught-on-tape examples of patient abuse, led to the creation of New Jersey’s “Safe Care Cam” program, which offers micro-surveillance cameras free on loan to residents who suspect a loved is being mistreated by an in-home caregiver.

“The horrifying images of Nurse Harvilik striking this defenseless patient and wrenching his head as she tended to him, underscored our need to ensure that all New Jersey families, regardless of their income, have access to state-of-the art technology they need to watch over their loved ones,” Porrino said.

Hidden cameras "not only expose patient abuse," he added. "They can provide the ‘smoking-gun’ evidence that helps bring abusers to justice.”

Harvilik is the third caregiver in recent weeks charged with patient abuse by the OIFP.

Harvilik and the others have all been stripped of their professional credentials as a result of their alleged abuse, authorities said.

In November, the State Board of Nursing permanently revoked Harvilik’s nursing license, after viewing the video of her striking the bed-bound patient, Porrino noted.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Grady presented Harvilik’s case to a grand jury, which returned an indictment charging her with assault on Monday.

Detective Sgt. Kevin Weinkauff and Detective Celeste Dowd coordinated the investigation, with assistance from Investigators John Musiello and Catherine Butter of the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

Full Article & Source:
'Horrifying' Video Shows Former Suffern Nurse Abusing Paralyzed Patient

Nevada high court presses for greater guardianship oversight

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court is proposing legislation to increase oversight of court-appointed guardians who watch over the state's most vulnerable residents.

The bills seek more rules for private and government-sponsored financial caretakers of elderly and incapacitated Nevadans.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2nkxxV9 ) Justice James Hardesty told lawmakers Wednesday that many repairs are needed.

One recommendation is to change attorney general investigations of elder abuse from civil to criminal action.

Others would ensure that every person under guardianship has an attorney and make it easier to remove guardians who violate the rights of wards of the system.

The court appointed a special commission to study the issue after a 2015 Review-Journal investigation of guardianship abuse cases.

Full Article & Source:
Nevada high court presses for greater guardianship oversight

Judge appoints conservator for Jesse White’s private practice of law

As the date of an emergency temporary suspension approaches, a Washington County judge has appointed a type of caretaker who will deal with the cases of former state legislator Jesse White’s clients as he faces allegations he breached rules of conduct by misappropriating nearly $100,000 in money clients had entrusted to him.

Samuel F. Napoli of the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the Pittsburgh region proposed David S. Posner as the conservator of White’s law practice, and White’s attorney, Amy J. Coco, voiced no objection. 

White, who was not present in court Thursday, intends to cooperate with Posner, who serves on a conservatorship committee of the Washington County Bar Association. A conservator takes over when a lawyer must abruptly cease practicing law for any number of reasons, such as illness or death, and, while not acting as the clients’ attorney, facilitates the process of finding them new legal representation. 

White’s suspension begins Friday, April 14, and since the Office of Disciplinary Counsel issued its petition for his suspension in mid-March, he has been winding down his practice of law, his Pittsburgh attorney told President Judge Katherine B. Emery Thursday morning. Emery ordered a “stay,” placing a hold on White’s cases until further order of court, with the exception of a divorce case scheduled next week before Judge Michael Lucas. 

Earlier this month, White and his three associates had approximately 140 open client files, including filed and not-yet-filed civil cases and about 45 federal bankruptcy cases. 

White and his associates have notified nearly all of the clients, and attorney Megan Patrick is working with White to transfer case files and close his law practice. Coco said White has not accepted new cases since the suspension order was filed March 15. 

Coco and Napoli each declined comment after the approximately 45-minute proceeding. 

A petition from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel states five clients entrusted White with a total of $118,298 between December 2015 and late November of last year. White deposited those funds into a professional trust account in his name. As of Dec. 30, the account was drawn down to $12,954 because of payments “unrelated to his entrustments,” the petition said. 

The office alleged White misappropriated the remaining $105,344. However, once the office adjusted its tally of the funds entrusted to White and accounted for additional funds in the trust, it put the amount of the deficiency at $96,446 as of Jan. 18. 

Coco wrote in a filing seeking to block the temporary suspension that her client had “sought help for a pathological gambling addiction” and placed himself on a list for exclusion from state casinos. 

State authorities took the step of asking the court for White’s emergency suspension when he refused to tender his voluntary resignation from the state bar, according to the state’s filing. 

White, a Democrat, won a 46th District seat in the state House of Representatives in 2006, serving until he lost a re-election bid to Republican Jason Ortitay. 

In the meantime, White was accused of creating false personas on various websites, using them to attack constituents, colleagues and the natural gas industry.

Full Article & Source:
Judge appoints conservator for Jesse White’s private practice of law

Live Oak man charged with elderly neglect, exploitation

LIVE OAK — The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office charged John Stuart Harrelson with exploitation of elderly person or disabled adult and neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult on March 24.

According to the report, an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families found the victim in the care of Harrelson, 60. The suspect was alleged to be mistreating the victim, using her money for his own personal gain and not the victims as well as leaving the victim home alone in a filthy and unsafe residence, prompting the investigation, the report states.

During DCF’s investigation, it found the victim home alone wearing misfitting clothing that were urine and feces soaked and bleach stained and just one shoe, the report states.

Suwannee County Fire Rescue responded to conduct a medical assessment of the victim and determined she was in need of medical assistance, according to the report. The DCF findings stated that the victim was malnourished looking and had no food in the residence other than a half-eaten waffle which had roaches crawling on it, the report states.

According to the report, live and dead roaches were found throughout the house with animal feces and urine throughout as well.

The DCF investigation found, according to the report, that the suspect failed to provide the victim with adequate food/nutrition, clean and adequate clothing, and medicine and medical services that “a prudent person would consider essential for the wellbeing” of the victim.

The report states that the DCF investigation was provided the victim’s bank statements showing numerous large withdrawals from ATMs from January 2016 to January 2017, which the suspect was allegedly using to benefit himself.

Full Article & Source:
Live Oak man charged with elderly neglect, exploitation

ISOLATE, MEDICATE, LIQUIDATE: How to Fleece a Senior

It started out simply: a retired Boxford lawyer, Marvin Siegel, got along in years, and as he approached his 83rd year amongst his fellow men, he began to slip a bit, needing some help around the house. His family pitched in, and at one point, a service that provided checkups on the elderly would visit with Mr. Siegel and see to his needs.

As time went on, his needs increased and a family member related that it made sense for his youngest daughter, a lawyer like her dad, to move into the family home with her father. (The eldest daughter lives thousands of miles away, and the middle daughter has some “issues” according to her younger sibling.) 

Things appeared fine at first, having one daughter, her husband and two of his grandchildren fill the voids in his previously silent home. Dinners together, helping out with laundry care, just watching TV together and bringing joy to Mr. Siegel…Then one day, the grandkids returned home with their mom, and found their grandfather being taken away in an ambulance. 

According to statements from the daughter and court documents (and we’re in the process of obtaining more documents, and scrutinizing hundreds of pages of filings and transcripts and listening to the court recordings), the visiting helper felt that Mr. Siegel was in an ill condition, tired and apparently forgetful. She called for an ambulance and he was transported to Beverly Hospital. From there, he was transported to another facility for evaluation, and that’s where the drugging began.

According to his youngest daughter, Mr. Siegel is medicated against his wishes, isolated from her, has had his cell phone taken away from him by his court-appointed guardian, and has 24/7 “guards” (medical providers) with him at his home in Boxford. She notes that within months of the ambulance ride, and the subsequent involvement of court-appointed personnel, she and her family were kicked out of her dad’s home, and she’s been prohibited from visiting with or having any communication with him.

That was five years ago.

Oh, and his bank accounts have dwindled over the past five years, with his net worth apparently oozed away, going from approximately $9 million to less than $4 million, and shrinking.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
ISOLATE, MEDICATE, LIQUIDATE: How to Fleece a Senior

APD to close elderly abuse investigation

The Austin Police Department investigation will soon close regarding a nurse aide at Windsor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Duval in North Austin.

No charges are filed.

A 23-year-old Pflugerville certified nurse aide is accused of posting Snapchat videos of himself taunting an 83-year-old woman with a feather, making her smear feces on her face.

APD Detective Lee Knouse said he could not comment on the specifics of this case, but told us how they work cases like these.

He said social media sites, like Snapchat, are not always enough evidence for an arrest because the user could claim someone was using the account without permission.

But don’t let that stop you from alerting police to criminal acts.

“We would ask as a police department for you to be a good neighbor and reach out to the police department. If you can, retain any information. Save any video you can that would aid in a criminal investigation later,” said Knouse.

Austin Police do not typically handles cases regarding abuse allegations between facility workers and the elderly. The Texas Attorney General’s Office handles criminal matters. The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) handles licensing regulations.

“Even though the police department may not have something with a criminal offense, that could land someone in jail, we want to make sure that the child or elderly is safe. the people who can do that would be DADS or other individuals we work with who could keep that individual safe,” said Knouse.

DADS confirmed their investigation is still open.

“Nursing facilities are required to follow regulations and statutes pertaining to offenses and criminal history checks,” said Kelli Weldon, Assistant Press Officer for the Texas Health & Human Services Commission, which is the state agency over DADS.

“Our regulatory authority is generally focused on the facility rather than individuals. Note: If an investigator confirms during an investigation that a nurse aide committed an act of abuse, neglect, exploitation or misappropriation of a resident or resident property the nurse aide will be referred to the Nurse Aide Registry for due process. If the at the end of due process the referral is upheld, the nurse aide’s certification will be revoked and he/she will be listed on the Employee Misconduct Registry as permanently unemployable in certain facilities in the state of Texas,” said Weldon.

KVUE reached out to the Texas Attorney General’s office Friday afternoon. They could not confirm nor deny an open investigation before this update. A spokesman said they will provide an update next week.

Full Article & Source:
APD to close elderly abuse investigation

Guardianship Now More Portable

If you are one of the 12,600 family caregivers in the Virgin Islands, you may be managing a loved one’s personal finances. Perhaps a Virgin Islands court has even appointed you as the person’s legal guardian. But what if you have to move away, or your loved one needs to go to a hospital on the U.S. mainland for medical care?

Guardianship just became more portable, with enactment of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act. The law, backed by AARP, sets guidelines to determine which state or territory has jurisdiction in guardianship cases. It also provides a simple process to transfer noncontroversial guardianships between jurisdictions.

AARP has fought successfully to get similar laws passed in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information, go to aarp.org/vi.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship Now More Portable

Journal seeks to open guardian mismanagement lawsuit

Annette Rosenstiel lived to be 101 years old.

But what happened to her and her assets during the nine years before her death in 2012 is mired in court-ordered secrecy that is opposed by her only child.

Annette Rosenstiel, an author who was married to New York financial heavyweight Raymond S. Rosenstiel, had been the ward of a for-profit guardian/conservator, Decades LLC of Albuquerque, since about 2003.

After her death, Annette’s daughter and personal representative, Leonie Rosenstiel, filed a lawsuit against the company and its founder, Nancy Oriola, alleging negligence and mismanagement of her mother’s assets. But her court complaint, the defendants’ response and more than 20 other documents filed by the parties in the civil negligence case are under seal on the order of a state district judge in Albuquerque.

Leonie Rosenstiel has tried to open up her own case, and on Wednesday the Albuquerque Journal filed a motion seeking to unseal the records, arguing that information about “alleged misbehavior of guardians or conservators should be made public because it is plainly a matter of public concern.”

“Affording blanket protection to information related to Defendants’ alleged mismanagement of a conservatorship or guardianship, when mismanagement by court-appointed guardians or conservators is a critical matter of public concern, offends the notion of the First Amendment right of access to the courts,” the newspaper argued in its motion.

A handful of records that aren’t sealed offer a glimpse into the allegations, which in essence contend that Decades mismanaged the Rosenstiel assets and abused its position as court-appointed guardian and conservator.

One document alleges breach of fiduciary duty, negligent handling of assets, negligence in the administration of the guardianship and conservatorship by a commercial entity and violation of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act. An accounting is also requested.

Leonie Rosenstiel has tried to have the files in her own lawsuit opened.

Based on what is known, the Journal argues in its motion, that the only interest being protected is the defendants’ interest in avoiding disclosure of Rosenstiel’s allegations against them.

None of the attorneys in Rosenstiel’s civil lawsuit responded to Journal requests for comment on Wednesday, but the lawyer for Decades said his client would oppose the Journal’s efforts to unseal the case.

State law makes virtually all information in a guardianship/conservatorship case confidential, except for the court docket sheet, the kind of guardianship and the name of the allegedly incapacitated person for whom a guardian was appointed.

But this isn’t the guardianship case of Annette Rosenstiel; rather, it is a claim of negligence against the guardian/conservator that was filed after the ward had died. District Judge Alan Malott, siding with Decades and against Rosentiel, ruled earlier that the case would remain sealed because it was related to a guardianship matter.

Full control

A court-appointed guardian is responsible for the day-to-day life decisions of a ward, while a conservator manages the financial affairs of a ward. In some cases, the guardian and conservator are one and the same.

Most guardians appointed in New Mexico are family members of the incapacitated person, but in some cases, judges decide a nonrelative should be appointed.

Decades, which has operated since 2001, is among the for-profit corporate companies in the state providing such services.

Leonie Rosenstiel originally initiated the guardian/conservator proceeding in 2003, according to court records, but, because of the secrecy, it isn’t known whether she sought to be her mother’s guardian or why the court appointed Decades LLC.

Records in the negligence case indicate there was a court-ordered forensic audit into some of Decades’ actions as Annette Rosenstiel’s guardian and conservator, although the results are secret.

The lawsuit was initially filed under seal. Rosenstiel subsequently asked for the court records to be unsealed, while the defendants contended they should be automatically kept from the public because they related to guardianship/conservatorship matters. Her lawyer also asked to be able to use portions of the guardianship case in the civil lawsuit.

“The former ward has passed away, and accordingly will suffer no embarrassment if the Sealed Records are unsealed,” Rosenstiel’s attorney, David A. Garcia, argued in a motion filed in 2013.

“Courts seal their records to protect the ward, not to protect the interests of private corporate guardians and conservators.

“Parties to litigation in civil cases would often prefer that as many particulars of the litigation as possible be hidden from the public,” he wrote. “But that isn’t the way court records are handled in the vast majority of cases like the one at bar.”

Decades, in arguing to keep the case sealed, said Annette Rosenstiel’s privacy interests didn’t end simply because she died.

The Journal’s motion to unseal the records in the negligence case, filed by attorney Matt Hoyt, said Malott appeared to interpret state law as automatically requiring that almost all information and documentation related to a guardianship and or/conservatorship proceeding be kept confidential – even though the civil negligence case is not itself such a proceeding.

“There was also no “separate consideration of reasons why the records in this (civil negligence) lawsuit should be sealed,” the Journal said.

The Journal also argued in its motion that the judge has a duty to seal only portions of the records rather than entire documents.

Malott, in his earlier denial of Garcia’s request to unseal the documents, said it would be “overly burdensome and expensive for the parties, and markedly inefficient for the Court, to determine confidentiality of each separate document or item of information as this matter is developed for trial.”

So the judge ordered the sealing of “any pleadings” related to the guardianship/conservatorship proceeding. Actual trial testimony and exhibits would be publicly available if and when the case goes to trial. A trial date is set for later this year.

Full Article & Source:
Journal seeks to open guardian mismanagement lawsuit

Editorial: Court makes right move in guardian system review

It’s encouraging to see the New Mexico Supreme Court recognizes the need to review the state’s troubled system designed to protect individuals deemed by the courts to be “incapacitated” and placed under court-appointed guardianship, conservatorship or both. Chief Justice Charles Daniels says he and the other four justices plan to appoint a commission to undertake a comprehensive study of the issue – including public hearings – that will inform the court of its findings.

The court announcement comes after the Journal published a series of articles highlighting the problems faced by some families and loved ones when someone says an elderly family member can no longer fend for themselves and becomes a ward of the court.

The Journal investigation found New Mexico lags behind other states that have instituted reforms to improve transparency in the mostly confidential system, as well as make guardians and conservators more accountable to the courts, including requiring certification or licensing.

The Journal has interviewed many family members who have had a loved one placed under guardianship or conservatorship; they have shared unsettling stories of how the system divided relatives, squandered finances and sometimes prevented them from spending time with their “incapacitated” parent. Although the current system has served many families well, these testimonies leave no doubt that improvements are direly needed.

Daniels says if improvements are warranted, the court could seek legislation; recommend executive agencies enact greater safeguards, or change court rules. Former state Rep. Conrad James, R-Albuquerque, who tried to pass a bill in 2016 to permit visitation by family members of a loved one under guardianship, said at the recent Journal forum “baby steps” might be needed to get the reform ball moving.

What the state Supreme Court has done is a giant leap in the right direction.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

Full Article & Source:
Editorial: Court makes right move in guardian system review

Three-part Series on Financial Elder Abuse in U.S. News & World Report

Michael Schroeder, who recently completed a John A. Hartford Foundation-sponsored Journalists in Aging Fellowship, has a three-part U.S. News & World Report series on financial elder abuse.

The three articles by Michael Schroeder discuss different aspects of the huge, but under-reported, issue of financial exploitation of older adults. The articles were completed as part of the Journalists in Aging Fellowship, a program of the Gerontological Society of America and New America Media:

Part 1 - “Financial Exploitation: When Taking Money Amounts to Elder Abuse”

Part 2  - "The Mental and Physical Cost of Elder Financial Abuse"

Part 3 - "What to Do If You or Someone You Love Has Been Financially Exploited"

Full Article & Source:
Three-part Series on Financial Elder Abuse in U.S. News & World Report

MARY ROWAN KIDNAPS AGAIN! SUPPORT SINGER SHARMIAN, CHARGED FOR PROTECTING MOM

33rd District Court Judge Jennifer Coleman Hesson.

DETROIT, MI —  Serial kidnapper-guardian Mary Rowan continues to strike. Now she may also be an accessory to the murder of one of her wards, Raymond Davis. Rowan is additionally pressing charges against country singer Sharmian Lynette Worley for trying to protect her mom from Rowan, who had no court order to take her.

Regarding the death of Davis and four other men March 9 in a fire on Whittier in Detroit, Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged one of the allegedly mentally ill residents for setting the fire, which was fanned into an inferno by gusting winds.

According to probate court records, Rowan and Detroit police seized Davis, who is blind, from his own apartment March 7, and put him in the Whittier home. Two days later he was dead.   See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Raymond-Davis-Docket-Information.pdf.

The other men who died were James Johnson, Leo Dear, William Ballard, and Norman Connors, according to a report from Channel Four. Neither the operators of the home, which was not licensed by the city or other entities, nor Rowan, who placed Davis, who is blind, in an unlicensed home with possibly dangerous roommates, are being charged.

Mary Rowan (sitting)

Rowan is currently involved in the cases of at least 1398 individuals under that court’s supervision, according to its records.

Six months ago, Rowan seized Wanda Lynette Worley, mother of Nashville-based country music star Sharmian (pronounced Char-min) from the home she shared with her daughter in Brownstown Twp.

VOD’s review of Wanda Worley’s probate court file shows that Judge David Braxton, in charge of Worley’s case, NEVER issued any order granting authority to Rowan to take Worley away from her daughter, who is also known as Sharmian Sowards. There are also no notices of service of an order appointing Rowan as successor guardian, on Sharmian or the rest of Worley’s family. See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Wanda-Worley-WCPC-roster.pdf.

Sharmian told VOD it was not Rowan’s first attempt to take her mother.

“First, Mary Rowan come banging on my mobile home, screaming as loud as she could, ‘Where is Wanda Worley, I’m the guardian.'” Sharmian told VOD. “I told her get off my property NOW and she left. A week or two later, I was in my front yard, weatherizing  the house and cleaning it a with hose. She pulled up again. I still didn’t know who the woman was. I continued washing my house. I told her again do not come on my property. She looked like the Wicked Witch of the West, very scary and intimidating, and I was not giving my mother to her.”

Both Sharmian and Rowan called the police, who took her mother after assuring Sharmian she would be OK and would be back in a couple of days. They claimed to have seen the non-existent court order. Sharmian says she never saw it and never knew who Rowan was.

Wanda Worley has not come back home for good since. Meanwhile, Sharmian faces misdemeanor charges of “resisting, hindering and obstructing a police officer/public official,” under what appears to be a city ordinance.

A trial on the charges against Sharmian will take place in 33rd District Court Wed. March 29 at 11 a.m, in front of Judge Jennifer Coleman Hesson.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:

MARY ROWAN KIDNAPS AGAIN! SUPPORT SINGER SHARMIAN, CHARGED FOR PROTECTING MOM

Small Town Nevada Judge Challenges Disciplinary Charges

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge who has been suspended from her position in a small, Nevada town is challenging state ethics charges that accuse her of various forms of abuse of judicial power.

Goodsprings Township Justice of the Peace Dawn Haviland's responses to the 10 charges were posted March 22 by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, online records show.

The document declares that Haviland does not believe that she has committed any ethical violations.

But it declines to respond to an 11th count alleging that she improperly provided legal advice and violated rules requiring her to competently and diligently discharge her duties, "promote confidence in the independence of the judiciary" and "exercise impartiality and fairness."

"I do not give anyone legal advice," she said, adding that she saw no specific facts to respond to in the other allegations in the count.

Haviland's lawyer, Al Marquis, has said he'll challenge the authority of the state oversight panel and seek dismissal of all charges. They were filed March 1.

Haviland was suspended in December with pay from her job as the only local judge in Goodsprings, a town of about 200 residents about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Las Vegas.

She branded several allegations as fabrications and dismissed one about sentencing a man to jail without his attorney present as a simple mistake. She said she corrected it "a couple of days later."

Haviland attributed several of the allegations to a disgruntled court clerk. Haviland said that she couldn't recall signing an order sealing records about a domestic dispute involving her daughter and then-son-in-law. She had recused herself from the case.

Haviland said her clerk gave her the order for her signature. In her answer to the judicial discipline panel, Haviland said that she saw nothing wrong with signing it because it had been agreed-upon by all parties in the case.

Haviland's answer accused the commission of making public a record that was supposed to have been sealed.

Full Article & Source:
Small Town Nevada Judge Challenges Disciplinary Charges

Florida Lawmakers Move Forward On Effort To Require Autism Law Enforcement Training

Last year, caregiver Chares Kinsey was shot by a police officer while his hands were raised and he was lying on the ground. His autistic patient, Arnaldo Rios, had a toy truck in his hand, though officers say they believed it was a gun.

Screenshot of the Video provided by Charles Kinsey's attorney, Hilton Napolean.

A bill requiring autism awareness training for law enforcement officers is starting to move in both chambers of the Florida Legislature. It comes after a high profile incident that occurred in South Florida last year involving a black man, an autistic man, and law enforcement.

Back in July, the shooting of Charles Kinsey—an unarmed black man in Miami—made national headlines. Why did it receive such attention?

Kinsey, a therapist at a group home, was with his autistic patient, Arnaldo Rios. Video shows Kinsey lying on the ground with his hands upraised, and talking to law officers. They were responding to calls of a suicide attempt with a gun. Even after Kinsey tries to calm Rios, one officer ends up shooting Kinsey—who still had his hands up.

“I still got my hands of the air,” said Kinsey, speaking to WSVN. “And, I said, ‘you know I just got shot.’ And, I asked him,’ sir, why did you shoot me?’ And, he said, ‘I don’t know.’”

Before he was shot, Kinsey said he wasn’t just worried for himself, he was also concerned about Rios.

“I was really worried…more worried about him than myself because I’m thinking, as long as I’ve got my hands up they’re not going to shoot me,” Kinsey added. “This is what I’m thinking. Wow, was I wrong!”

At the time, the police union representing the officer who shot Kinsey said officers believed Rios was holding a gun, although it was really a toy truck. So, the shot was meant for the 23-year-old autistic man.

But, Matthew Dietz—the lawyer for Rios and his family—said that’s wrong.

“‘We didn’t mean to shoot the African American guy. We meant to shoot the man with the disability’ is the height of ableism,” said Dietz. “It makes a person with a disability’s life worth nothing. It makes them not even a human. After they knew that he had autism, what did they do? They threw him on the ground. He’s sensitive to touch. He’s sensitive to noise. He didn’t know what was happening. They kept him a in a police car for three to four hours. There’s no excuse.”

Almost a week after the shooting, Rios’ mother and sister—Miriam and Gladys Soto—said Rios was still traumatized by the incident.

“He’s still traumatized,” said Miriam, translating for her mother.  “He’s having night terrors. He’s not sleeping. He’s not eating. He’s not the same anymore. He’s still wearing the same clothes from the accident with Charles’ blood...”

And, now, more than six months later, Lobbyist Susan Goldstein says Rios’ condition is pretty much the same.

“It was very traumatic to this poor child, and he is a child, even though he looks like an adult,” said Goldstein. “He was cognitively probably around four-five years old. And, he has been in turmoil since.”

As the mother of an autistic daughter, she says it’s important law enforcement be trained to recognize the condition.

“Just the fact that police would know what the characteristics of autism and the symptoms—the rocking, the hand flapping…these children with autism do not wear physically their disabilities as many other developmental disabilities are recognizable immediately,” added Goldstein.

That’s why she supports a bill by Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Dania Beach) and Sen. Perry Thurston (D-Fort Lauderdale).

Thurston says his bill will have a positive effect on the way law enforcement interact with many Florida children. The CDC estimates 1 in 68 kids are diagnosed with autism.

“And, what this bill does is it requires the Department of Law Enforcement to establish a constant employment training component relating to autism spectrum disorder,” said Thurston. “This constant training will count toward the continued employment of 40 hours with each department and would have specific instructions on how law enforcement responds to citizens with autism spectrum disorder for officers to be able to identify the symptoms and characteristics.”

Both the House and Senate bills recently unanimously passed their first committees.

Full Article & Source:
Florida Lawmakers Move Forward On Effort To Require Autism Law Enforcement Training