by Bret Pallotto
A Snow Shoe Township woman pleaded no contest Friday to neglect for what a Centre County prosecutor once described as “barbaric treatment of another human being.”
Loretta P. Stokes-McClusick, 54, pleaded no contest to one felony count each of neglect of a care dependent person and financial exploitation of a care dependent person. The plea meant she accepted the conviction, but did not admit guilt.
Centre County Judge Julia Rater is set to decide her sentence, which could include anything from probation to a lengthy period in state prison.
Stokes-McClusick said little during the hearing, having only offered perfunctory answers to routine questions from Rater. She also shook her head as Centre County First Assistant District Attorney Sean McGraw read aloud the allegations against her.
A then 84-year-old woman Stokes-McClusick was responsible for was treated in May 2022 for what a registered nurse at Mount Nittany Medical Center described as “horrific” wounds.
Her weight was substantially diminished, she was treated for hypothermia, her blood pressure was the lowest the nurse had ever seen, and some wounds that appeared to be caused by maggots exposed bone.
The woman survived, but medical professionals at the emergency room feared she would either die or have one of her legs amputated. McGraw said the woman would never walk again.
“It’s nothing short of incredible that she survived this ordeal,” McGraw said when Stokes-McClusick was arraigned in February 2023. “I think it’s a tribute to both her resilience, as well as the excellent care that she received at Mount Nittany Medical Center.”
A court-appointed guardian oversaw the woman’s finances after her hospitalization, but McGraw said Stokes-McClusick wrote herself a $2,000 check from the woman’s bank account. No additional charges will be filed as part of the agreement that requires her to repay that money.
Stokes-McClusick, who posted $100,000 bail through a bondsman, remains free. No sentencing date was set.
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Centre County woman pleads no contest to felony neglect, financial exploitation of woman
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