Elder Abuse Sentencing

“You essentially shut the door to her getting help.” That’s what a Judge told a Centre County woman, who is now headed to State Prison in whats termed a “Horrific case of Elder Abuse.” Loretta Stokes-McClusick of Philipsburg was arraigned in February of 2023 on charges of Elder Neglect involving a close relative who was in Stokes-McClusick’s care. That so called care, or lack of it, Police, Prosecutors, even Doctors have had a difficult time describing.

On Wednesday, Stokes-McClusick sentenced to 40-80 months in a State Prison, after earlier this year pleading no contest to two criminal charges. The 84-year-old woman in Stokes-McClusick’s home lost half her body weight and was just 89 pounds when admitted to a Hospital in 2022, where Doctors feared she would die. She had tunneling wounds on her legs, down to the bone, and her body temperature was the lowest ever seen by the medical personnel.

Police said Stokes-McClusick’s home was strewn with garbage, difficult to get a wheel chair through, and Stokes-McClusick repeatedly turned away Nurses and others from getting in the home. Prosecutors say the motive was money — financial exploitation. That Stokes-McClusick wanted continued access to the victim’s Social Security checks, even taking money out of the victim’s account months after she was hospitalized.

In Court Wednesday, Stokes-McClusick had nothing to say. Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna telling the Judge she’s never shown remorse and then added — the victim has survived. That after a long rehabilitation, she’s living happily, blissfully in a Nursing Home.

Full Article & Source:
Elder Abuse Sentencing