Community Care Licensing "Confounded" by Elder Abuse

Elder rights advocates testified to failures of Community Care Licensing (CCL), a Division of California's Department of Social Services (DSS). Testimony addressed CCL's failure to intervene in crimes against elders, failure to assess penalties for crimes, and failure to report crimes to law enforcement. Crimes disregarded by CCL included sexual assault, battery, false imprisonment, isolation, and financial exploitation.

Department Director Will Lightbourne testified that he was "confounded" by the Department's backlog. Lightbourne is California's highest paid government employee, receiving $343,000 in pay and benefits annually.

Lightbourne was formerly Director of Santa Clara County's Social Services Agency. Santa Clara County's Public Guardian was in the news for abuse of conservatees, some of which occurred during Lightbourne's tenure in Santa Clara County.

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Community Care Licensing "Confounded" by Elder Abuse

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Investigating the Public Guardian

Authorities: Disabled man kidnapped, beaten: Victim's guardian charged after DSS visit

The guardian of a mentally disabled man faces multiple charges, including malicious castration, after a Department of Social Services visit Wednesday.

The disabled man was found with severe injuries over most of his body after DSS arrived for a visit, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s office.

Charles Troy Newton, 50, of Casar, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury, kidnapping, assault by strangulation, abuse of disabled or elderly inflicting serious injury and malicious castration.

An anonymous call lead DSS to Newton’s door step to investigate, said Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.

The disabled man was taken initially to Cleveland Regional Medical Center and then transferred to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The man had several broken bones, fractures and bruises.
Newton was arrested Wednesday evening.

Authorities are still trying to determine the duration of the alleged abuse.

“We are attempting to determine (how long) as the investigation is ongoing,” Norman said Thursday.
Newton, who authorities identified as the disabled man's guardian, was the only other person that lived in the home at the time of the reported assault and abuse, according to officials.

“This is a sad situation that has occurred. The investigation shows at this time that the victim could have been assaulted over a number of days,” Norman said. “Thank God someone called when they did or this could have been a homicide investigation.”

Newton is being held on $150,000 bond.

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Authorities: Disabled man kidnapped, beaten: Victim's guardian charged after DSS visit