Montgomery woman sentenced for senior abuse

A former employee of a Union County memory care center who with a juvenile took inappropriate pictures of elderly residents will be under court supervision for 16 years, Judge Michael Piecuch ruled Monday after rejecting a more lenient plea deal last month, PennLive.com reported.

Madison Elaine Cox, 19, of Montgomery, was ordered to spend the first three months in jail, followed by 18 months of house arrest under electronic monitoring.

The original plea agreement rejected by Piecuch recommended a prison sentence of three years to two years minus a day, followed by three years’ probation.

You failed the test of human decency – I’ll never know why,” Piecuch told Cox, questioning whether she understood the depth of her actions, warning that she may someday be in the hands of strangers, PennLive.com said.

Her actions and inactions caused lasting psychological damage, the judge said.

Cox pledged it would never happen again and told the court that she’s trying to do better every day, PennLive.com reported.

Cox and a boy also from Montgomery each worked the 4 p.m. to midnight shift at Heritage Springs Memory Care Center near Lewisburg as resident assistants.

In February, Cox admitted to taking disturbing pictures and videos of at least 12 patients between the ages of 69 and 100, while she worked at Heritage Springs Memory Care Near Lewisburg, a senior living facility for people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Some of the photos showed patients partially clothed or nude, authorities said, according to PennLive.com.

He has been adjudicated but because he is a juvenile his record is not public.

“You stole my mother’s dignity. You stole our family’s peace. I hope today’s sentence will make it clear to you that this is not acceptable to this community or to any other decent human being…,” Lynn Fiedler, whose 94-year-old mother was one of the victims, said to Cox during the hearing, per PennLive.com.

Fiedler has taken the lead in forming a task force whose goal is to strengthen state laws so that elder abuse crimes are felonies, with their sights set on revising two Senate bills, one of which would require a registry for elder abusers like the requirement for sex offenders. They hope that the bill will be named for Fiedler’s mother Alice, PennLive.com said.

A state Department of Human Services investigation resulted in the revocation of the certificate of compliance for Heritage Springs and the issuance of a provisional one, with the department finding violations including insufficient and inadequate staffing at times and staff members making sexually inappropriate comments to and harassing residents, PennLive.com reported.

Later inspections found the secure dementia care facility again was in compliance and its regular license was restored on April 15, per the news organization.

The facility has since revised its hiring policy, requiring all, except dietary employees, to be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or GED. A revised cell phone policy now requires staff to keep their devices in their vehicles or in a locked storage bin with access permitted only on break or lunch, according to PennLive.com.

In addition to her prison and home detention sentences, Cox was ordered to pay a fine of $200 and undergo 39 months of intensive probation. She is also prohibited from being unsupervised or employed in anything that involves seniors or minors.

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Montgomery woman sentenced for senior abuse