State legislation on elder abuse brings light to uncomfortable topic

After his mother’s alleged abuse, a Missouri senator advances a bill to toughen elder‑abuse penalties and require liability insurance for long‑term care homes.

by Emily Skidmore, Missouri News Network

Sen. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles, said he found signs of neglect with his mom when she was left alone for eight to nine hours with no help, and she expressed fear of the staff at the facility she was staying at in Missouri.

Schnelting saw bruises on his mom’s face from what he believed were the result of someone at the long-term care facility punching her. His mom passed away shortly after sustaining the injuries, which included blood clots.

Despite numerous interactions between police and administrators of the facility, no person was charged with the abuse and Schnelting and his family never found justice.

Schnelting introduced a bill this session to address elder abuse in Missouri.

Senate Bill 910 seeks to increase transparency and accountability in long-term care facilities in Missouri through three main aspects: liability insurance requirements, icons on state department websites and increasing the severity of elder abuse charges.

Since Missouri does not currently require facilities to carry liability insurance, the bill would require that all facilities across Missouri have a minimum of $1 million in liability insurance.

The bill also increases penalties for elder abuse cases, making abuse or neglect by a caregiver in a long-term facility a Class E felony, which can lead to imprisonment for up to four years or one year in jail. Elder abuse is currently a Class A misdemeanor.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services would also be required, under the bill, to display a symbol on its website identifying facilities with abuse or neglect cases, bringing a federal system to the state level.

Schnelting’s bill had a committee hearing in March after the bill sat in committee for months. This was the first piece of legislation that Schnelting submitted for the session in December.

The bill moved out of committee in early April, but with the general session coming to a close this week, no other progress has been made.

This is the third year Schnelting has introduced this sort of legislation.

“If we don’t rectify those shortcomings, we’re going to be failing our older generations,” Schnelting said regarding elder abuse in Missouri.

In November, Schnelting joined Lt. Gov. David Wasinger on a statewide tour that brought together community members to talk about elder abuse and possible solutions in a series of forums.

Wasinger and Schnelting shared with communities across Missouri their personal connections to elder abuse as both of their mothers dealt with neglect and abuse while staying in a facility. Schnelting also sought feedback on the solutions he planned on bringing to this year’s session.

“We have a very serious problem,” Schnelting said during the November forum in Columbia. “It’s very, very important that we get a handle on this.”

Wasinger, who was elected in 2024, serves as the official senior advocate for elder Missourians. He joined Schnelting in the forum to tell his own story and hear from other residents on how to decrease elder abuse in the state.

“We heard story after story about these issues, and it’s heartbreaking,” Wasinger said. “It (can) touch every family and socioeconomic class.”

Wasinger’s mother went into a senior living facility because of medical issues. She was unable to move properly because of fluid in her legs and was left unattended for periods of time, he said. Wasinger and his family voiced their concerns to administrators of the facility and moved his mom out and into an independent living place. Wasinger points to inadequate staffing as one of the main reasons for this neglect.

“She didn’t receive the care that she deserved, and it was really, frankly, a very sad situation,” he said.

In Wasinger’s current position, he has worked with legislators like Schnelting to bring awareness to issues affecting seniors in Missouri. His drive for reforming these issues stems from his own mother’s story.

“I had heard stories about it, but when I saw it personally with my mother … you’re angry. You’re sad, it’s just a range of emotions,” Wasinger said.

Wasinger said that his office is consistently receiving calls from constituents about senior related issues. He is working on getting a senior advocate for his office to specifically help monitor problems and concerns related to seniors.

“It resonates with every family,” Wasinger said.

Missouri is ranked 38th overall in the country for long-term care services and support, according to a 2023 report from AARP.

The report also ranked Missouri as 47th for safety and quality in facilities. Additionally, turnover for registered nursing staff in facilities is at 50.2%, according to quarterly data released from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Tim Blattel, an assisted living facility worker of 44 years and CEO of Twin Oaks Estate, said he opposes Schnelting’s proposed legislation because of the possible impact it will have on family-owned facilities in Missouri.

“It’s going to raise the cost even higher, and that’s why we are seeing a record number of small operators getting out of health care,” Blattel said.

Blattel agrees there is an issue with elder abuse in the state but emphasizes there is a way to protect seniors and facilities at the same time.

“I would love to see a peer review and assistance program where we work together to help support each other more,” Blattel said.

Long-term care facilities in Missouri receive funding from federal and state programs. The Older American Act and Social Security Act allows for federal funding to be allocated to senior services like long-term care facilities. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services distributes these amounts to facilities across the state.

However, Blattel said there is a shortage in funding for nursing homes that creates inadequate staffing issues in many smaller long-term care facilities. He expressed concern about how much more nursing facilities would have to pay toward insurance and maintenance under Schnelting’s proposed legislation.

“We need to incentivize and work together to get funding in these rural areas,” Blattel said.

Schnelting said that he recognizes the additional cost that insurance would be for facilities but emphasizes that it is necessary for providing a layer of accountability and transparency at long-term care facilities.

“At the end of the day, it ensures that when a facility harms a patient, those costs are not absorbed by the taxpayers of that facility for that negligence,” Schnelting said.

Julie Peetz, executive director of Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging, an advocacy organization for seniors in Missouri, supported Schnelting’s claims that there needs to be transparency and accountability within the home where abuse occurs, but noted the possible dangers of overregulation of nursing facilities.

“We want to target the bad actors, but not penalize quality providers,” Peetz said.

Despite the lack of action on his bill this year, Schnelting said he plans to bring this legislation back to the Capitol for a fourth time next January.

Full Article & Source:
State legislation on elder abuse brings light to uncomfortable topic

Agreement reached in Emergency Protective Order case against former Gov. Matt Bevin

By Derek Brightwell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - An agreement has been reached in the Emergency Protective Order case filed by the son of former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin against his adopted parents. The former governor was ordered by a judge Tuesday not to contact his adopted son, Jonah, or else face criminal charges.

The case originated after Jonah Bevin alleged he was physically and emotionally abused under the guardianship of Matt and Glenna Bevin. He also says he went through therapy and was even sent to a Jamaican facility where he described accounts of being beaten and waterboarded.

After a contentious hearing last Thursday that was expected to continue Tuesday, attorneys for Jonah quickly put an end to the hearing, saying that all parties involved had come to an agreement.

The agreement called for different terms for each parent.

Former Gov. Bevin agreed to a six month EPO starting Tuesday, March 25, meaning no contact with Jonah and potential jail time if he violates the order during that time period. Following the expiration of the order, Bevin will be placed under a court-ordered civil restraining order from Jonah, which carries less severe penalties if broken.

Former First Lady Glenna Bevin agreed to an immediate Civil Restraining Order, and no EPO.

The exact terms of the civil restraining orders still have to be worked out amongst attorneys.

The order also calls for the former governor to turn over any information he may have regarding Jonah’s biological parents in Ethiopia. According to Jonah, the Bevins told him his entire life that his biological parents were dead, only to later bait him with a trip to Ethiopia to supposedly meet his biological mother.

The confusion was the focal point of hearings Tuesday, as it’s still unknown whether or not Jonah’s parents are alive and where exactly they are. By court order, if Bevin knows this information, he must turn it over to his adopted son.

Following the conclusion of the hearing Tuesday, attorneys for Jonah spoke to the press, while the former governor and attorneys for the Bevins refused to answer any questions.

“I got what I needed,” Jonah said. “It looked like to everybody that Matt Bevin had everything figured out in his life, but he had nothing figured out. There’s an image they want people to see, and they don’t want an actual image of what is actually going on in their homes, and today we brought it out. We brought out what he didn’t want people to see.”

Attorneys for Jonah said the decision Tuesday was just the “first step” in a likely long legal battle. They’re still pursuing criminal charges in connection to Jonah’s abandonment at a Jamaican facility, which was shut down after documented cases of abuse and neglect.

Jonah said he wants to stand up and speak out for all of the kids still trapped in facilities like the one he was rescued from.

He said while he doesn’t know where his parents are or if they’re alive, he’s looking forward to finding out.

“I do desire to talk to and be with my family but the thing is, Matt has the information,” Jonah said. “And I know that he has the information, because he had texted the information to me and deleted it. So, I have no further information, but I have to get those things from Matt, and we will get those things from Matt.”

Jonah says he has exciting plans for his new life, although he couldn’t say where he’ll be going next.

The former governor is estranged from his wife, Glenna, and has lived a relatively reclusive lifestyle since his disappointing loss to current Governor Andy Beshear in 2019. It’s unclear what their next move will be, as they refused to answer reporter questions.

Full Article & Source:
Agreement reached in Emergency Protective Order case against former Gov. Matt Bevin

Video shows alleged abuse of disabled elder by convicted teacher in New Mexico

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Video shows alleged abuse of disabled elder by convicted teacher in New Mexico

Elderly Ozark woman battles for her life after alleged abuse: Police

Ozark Police Chief Charles Ward said police and paramedics found the 81-year-old victim needing severe medical treatment and took her to a hospital to treat numerous injuries that he considers critical.

By Ken Curtis

OZARK, Al (WTVY) -An Ozark woman faces elderly abuse and neglect charges involving the lack of care provided to her mother, according to police.

Officers arrested 58-year-old Wendy Woodham, who had fallen Saturday at the Ozark home she shared with her mother.

Ozark Police Chief Charles Ward said police and paramedics found the 81-year-old victim needing severe medical treatment and took her to a hospital to treat numerous injuries that he considers critical.

Ward said the investigation is ongoing and won’t rule out additional charges.

Dale County Jail Records show that a judge has yet to set bond, keeping Woodham behind bars until at least Monday.

Full Article & Source:
Elderly Ozark woman battles for her life after alleged abuse: Police

El Cajon nursing home keeps operating despite record of abuse, poor care

 

An El Cajon nursing home had such a long record of poor care and abuse that federal officials moved to decertify it in April. But, then, to the shock of advocates, they rescinded their order. In the first of a two-part series, KPBS Investigative Reporter Amita Sharma examines the evidence against the nursing home and why it remains open. 

 

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions that some audience members may find disturbing.

 

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El Cajon nursing home keeps operating despite record of abuse, poor care

Missouri Judge Sends 14-Year-Old Girl to Live With Allegedly Abusive Dad While Jailing Her Mom

By Megan Fox

 

JANIFEST/iStock/Getty Images Plus

This report is part one of an investigative series looking into reported corruption in the Missouri Judiciary and family courts. Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

 

A St. Louis, Mo., family court judge, Nicole Zellweger, has launched an all-out judicial assault on Angela Freiner and her minor daughter, who are refusing her order to make the 14-year-old girl return to the man who she says sexually molested her. The minor at the center of the controversy recorded a hearing on her smartphone, which got into the hands of investigative journalist Michael Volpe, who posted it on YouTube. In the video, the minor child begs the judge not to send her to live with the man she says is a child molester. 

The audio is hard to hear, but it’s very plain that the minor child is in distress and begging the adults around her to take her concerns seriously. In return, Zellweger tried to coerce the daughter to comply, threatening to jail her mother for contempt. In the recording above, Zellweger can be heard telling the minor child that Freiner’s freedom is at stake if the child doesn’t cooperate. “She has free will but her free will can end up putting her in jail,” Zellweger says.

The child, in obvious distress, pleaded with Zellweger, “I don’t want to live with him.”

The judge replied, “When your mom is taken to jail you will have no other parent to live with but dad…I understand you’re not happy with the court’s judgment.”

When the child refused to consent, the judge continued threatening to arrest her mother. “We can do it the easy way or we can do it the hard way,” Zellweger said.

“I still don’t understand,” said the minor. “I told you that he was touching me [unintelligible] and you’re still going to make me go with him?”

“There’s no evidence…” Zellweger interrupted the minor’s plea.

Texas Family Courts Under Fire From Angry Parents: ‘Our Confidence in the Judiciary Is at an All-Time Low’

“This is what I’m telling you,” continued the child while sobbing. “I have a personal experience,” she said, begging. “You don’t understand, you’re just going to force me to go with a child molester.”

At that point a male voice jumped in and scolded the child to be quiet with a loud “No!” and the minor fell silent while the judge repeated to the young girl that her story doesn’t matter in the eyes of the court because Zellweger didn’t hear any evidence of the molestation. But if only the child and the abuser were there at the time of the molestation, what evidence would there be, other than the child’s word?

The child reported the alleged abuse to her school counselor and Child Protective Services in Montana (where she lived with her father) filed a report, but her allegations fell on deaf ears. When the child went to visit her mother for Christmas, she disclosed the allegation and refused to go back. Zellweger still ruled to send her to live with the father full-time, in spite of the allegations of abuse the child made in Montana and in her own courtroom. In the age of #MeToo and #BelieveWomen, why are girls ignored and silenced and sent back to alleged abusers in Zellweger’s courtroom?

Court documents reveal that the minor was candid in court.

As planned, the GAL [guardian ad-litem] conducted examination of the Child in camera. The Child expressed her wishes to remain with Petitioner during the school year. The Child expressed her view that Respondent does not listen to her feelings and makes her feel insecure at times. She further testified that she feels manipulated at times by Respondent. She testified that she is more “comfortable” with Petitioner.

The documents also reveal that the father has a criminal record and is on probation for domestic abuse.

Petitioner and the GAL asked questions of Respondent about his past/current criminal convictions. Respondent testified that he is on probation until July of 2021 for disorderly conduct related to a domestic/family dispute that involved his wife and his step-daughter…Respondent testified that he has a temper and that there have been arguments at his house, although he testified that things have improved and he is working … on this issue. These facts trouble the Court greatly, but the Court finds Respondent credible in his testimony that he is working on his anger issues.

Most normal family arguments don’t end in arrests and convictions. But despite the testimony that the father has anger issues that led to arrest and conviction, Zellweger ordered the minor into the custody of her father over the custody of her mother, who had failed a marijuana test. The judge sided with a convicted abuser over a mom who smokes pot and let her daughter have a nose piercing. This brings into question why states are legalizing marijuana all over the country without changing the way judges treat pot-smoking parents.

There was additional evidence about Petitioner’s lifestyle that the Child witnessed, but which was entirely inappropriate for the Child to have witnessed, including Petitioner smoking marijuana at the home.

The judge did not enter into the record what the “additional evidence” was that the mother was unfit, other than an allegation that she left the minor with a family friend when she went out of state and got stranded and was unable to return quickly. Freiner denied that her daughter was in any danger during that time. Court documents also reveal that the father took the minor child to the home of his father, a level-three sex offender who had been convicted of “rape/fear, force, and sexual battery,” according to the registry, and stayed several nights at his house.

Additionally, Respondent testified that he took the Child to Arkansas to visit his parents. At that time, the GAL raised a concern about the Child spending nights at Respondent’s father’s house and Respondent told the GAL that he was staying at a hotel. However, Respondent acknowledged during testimony that he only stayed in a hotel one night and spent the rest of the nights at his parents’ house, which was in complete disregard of the GAL’s communications with Respondent. Such flagrant disregard for the GAL’s position (that the Child not spend an overnight at paternal grandfather’s house) concerns the GAL and this Court.

#JudgeNicoleZellweger gave custody of a child to a man on probation for domestic abuse who also took her to a level 3 sex offender's house and stayed there overnight for a week. Child alleges sex abuse by dad. Zellweger knew this. She did it anyway. #StLouisCounty pic.twitter.com/1e4QkHRM7s

— Megan Fox (@MeganFoxWriter) February 28, 2021

In many cases, child abuse complaints are treated as hearsay even though the victim is begging for help. Children are not believed. PJ Media confirmed multiple cases in St. Louis County that were reported to the police and were dropped by the county prosecutor, Wesley Bell, a controversial figure who supports defunding the police and has been publicly accused of creating a hostile working environment for white women and refusing to prosecute fathers who owe back payments of child support.

Sources who were in the courtroom on Friday told PJ Media that in response to the child’s heartfelt pleas to stay with her mother, Zellweger made good on her threat to arrest Freiner. She was held in criminal contempt and jailed for two days. Then sources told PJ Media that Zellweger called the county juvenile detention and had the child committed to the behavioral center at Children’s Hospital of St. Louis in retaliation for the refusal to obey. Upon her arrival at the hospital, sources say the child immediately informed the doctors that she experienced sexual abuse. As doctors are mandated reporters, that disclosure should have triggered a call to the St. Louis County abuse hotline. If the doctors did their job, Zellweger now has two reports on her desk saying that the man she has ordered to have physical custody of the minor should be investigated for child sexual abuse.

Indiana Child Services Ripped Children Away From Disabled Parents. A New Lawsuit Aims to Stop It.

When the secret court recording was posted to YouTube, Zellweger issued a sweeping rebuke of the mother and convened an emergency hearing on Friday to order the mother to remove all postings from the internet. She is gagging everyone involved from talking about what she is doing inside her courtroom. She is also threatening the mother with six months in jail if she does not have members of the media delete the above video from the internet.

This is an impossible order. Freiner does not have control over members of the media who are doing their jobs and reporting court corruption and judicial overreach to the public. Zellweger herself is responsible for the seeming judicial overreach in this case that alerted the press to her actions. The fact that Zellweger thinks she has the power to tell the media what to report should concern the public. She does not have the power to control what the media prints, but she sure thinks she does. In the order, Zellweger wrote:

The Court also intends to enter an Order requiring that the parties/counsels remove any and all recordings previously posted on the internet, obtain all recordings disseminated to third parties, and turn over to the Court all originals and copies of all Court proceedings that were recorded by the parties or in the possession of the parties…no later than March 3, 2021.

If Freiner does not obey this order, the judge is threatening to put her in jail for up to six months for contempt and, based on her previous decision to jail Freiner for two days, it seems likely she will do it unless some higher authority stops her. The court is not only silencing Freiner but also attempting to silence a minor child who is desperate for anyone to believe that she is not safe where the court has placed her.

Zellweger’s excuse for not wanting the public to know what is going on inside her fiefdom at the St. Louis County circuit court is that the case is a “paternity case.” This is news to people connected to the proceedings who say previously the case was a custody case until the YouTube video of Zellweger threatening Freiner and her child was posted online. In fact, court records refer to this case as a “custody case” up until the gag order, when records switched to calling it a “paternity case.” Did Zellweger change the type of case in front of her to trigger secrecy so the press cannot investigate her behavior on the bench?

VIP: The Fringe with Megan Fox, Episode 18: Family Court Child Trafficking? Daily Caller’s Michael Volpe Weighs In

Previous to the February 10 hearing, Freiner had been posting many videos of court hearings on her Facebook page. The judge had never commented about these videos, not even when Freiner posted one showing the guardian ad litem (GAL), Venus Jackson, admitting to Zellweger that the minor child reported that she was scared of her father and did not want to live with him because of the alleged abuse. That video is now unavailable to the public because Freiner removed it to comply with the judge’s orders. However, PJ Media reviewed the recording before it was deleted and can confirm that Jackson informed the judge of the child’s concerns. Zellweger is actively engaged in hiding the child’s pleas for help from the public by issuing the gag order.

Many questions need to be answered:

1. Does a child have a right to due process and proper legal representation in a court of law? If so, the GAL should be removed and the child should have an attorney who represents her interests and her interests alone. If she were an LGBT minor who wanted a sex change, she would have the ACLU fighting for her. Instead, she is stuck with a GAL who is not only ignoring her but is on record in a separate video bragging that many of her clients complain about her but she isn’t concerned about getting sued because her clients are too poor to do it. “The clients on my GAL cases don’t have money. My clients complain all the time, but most of them don’t have money for [unintelligible] anything,” she said in a secret Zoom meeting. Her comments come at the 38:54 mark here. Is Venus Jackson an appropriate advocate for the minor child after that admission?
2. Does the court have the power and the right to order a parent to remove something from the internet?
3. Does anyone have the power or capability to remove content from social media and news platforms in different states or across the world?
4. Is it reasonable to order a litigant to do so knowing it is impossible?
5. Are examples of making humanly impossible demands upon litigants a pathway to giving custody to abusers and offenders under the guise of a) failure to comply with court orders, b) uncooperative conduct, and c) refusals to reunify a child with a parent with allegations of abuse or neglect?
6. Does the higher level of confidentiality create a license for the GALs and the courts to act in a manner inconsistent with conduct that they might exhibit if there were cameras and press in the room?

PJ Media reached out to Zellweger’s office and the county spokesperson with these exact questions. Neither responded. Investigative journalist Michael Volpe attempted to question Jackson about her secret Zoom activities here.

Volpe is compiling statements of parents who have had the same experience as Freiner in St. Louis County. Many parents claim judges ignored children who claimed they are being sexually molested and remanded them to the custody of their alleged abusers. The stories of parents reporting the same patterns in St. Louis County Circuit Court are piling up. Here is one of many such stories on Volpe’s YouTube channel below. Judge Zellweger’s actions to attempt to stop the media from reporting what’s going on in the St. Louis County Circuit Court have only made journalists more interested in this case. What is Judge Zellweger trying to hide?

If you or someone you know is a victim of Saint Louis County court guardians, judges, or psych services, please reach out to MeganFox.Writer@protonmail.com.

Full Article & Source:

Missouri Judge Sends 14-Year-Old Girl to Live With Allegedly Abusive Dad While Jailing Her Mom

Britney Spears’ Dad Jamie Steps Down As Conservator Amid Abuse Allegations

Britney Spears Opens a New Window. ’ father is stepping down as her conservator after he was accused of abusing her oldest son with ex-husband Kevin Federline Opens a New Window. , RadarOnline.com can confirm.

In court papers obtained from Los Angeles Superior Court, Jamie is requesting Jodi Montgomery be made the Temporary Conservator of his daughter until January 20, 2020.

He is seeking to temporarily relinquish the powers of conservatorship due to “personal health reasons.”

Montgomery is an “experienced professional fiduciary with the ability, experience and support resources, to take on these obligations during this time.” He claimed in the Friday, September 6 filing that she has been the care manager for Spears for a year.

The Temporary Conservator “shall have the power to restrict and limit visitors by any means, provided that the Temporary Conservator shall not prevent the Conservatee from meeting with her court-appointed attorney, Mr. Ingham.”

The conservator shall also have the power to retain caretakers for the Conservatee on a 24 hour/7 day basis, prosecute civil harassment restraining orders that the Conservator deems appropriate, communicate with treating and other expert medical personnel regarding the Conservatee, and to have access to any and all records regarding the singer’s medical treatment, diagnosis and testing, as well as psychiatric treatment, diagnosis and testing.

Montgomery has consented to act as Temporary Conservator of Spears.

Jamie is asking for a hearing to be held on Monday, September 9 at 8:30am.

The filing comes after Spears’ ex-husband filed a police report against Jamie, claiming he abused their oldest son Sean Preston during an August 24 incident.

The District Attorney is reviewing the case Opens a New Window. , but no charges have been filed yet.

Federline was granted a temporary restraining order. Opens a New Window. Jamie is forbidden from seeing Sean Preston, 13, and Jayden, 12, for three years.

Spears, 37, reportedly took the boys from her father following the altercation and brought them to Federline’s home.

As Radar reported, Federline, 41, was granted 70 percent of time with their sons Opens a New Window. , while she has the remaining 30 percent on Wednesday, August 28.

According to reports, their previous agreement was 50/50 custody.

“She is very angry at her father,” a source told Radar Opens a New Window. . “Because Jamie is her conservator, she lost time with her boys after the [alleged abuse] incident and she blames him.”

Britney’s dad Jamie, who has been dealing with medical issues, has been in charge of her conservatorship ever since she suffered a mental breakdown in 2007.

She checked into a mental wellness center in April 2019 amid her father’s health crisis.

Full Article & Source:
Britney Spears’ Dad Jamie Steps Down As Conservator Amid Abuse Allegations

VA whistleblower complaints allege abuse, retaliation from regional director

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DURHAM, NC (WBTV) – A senior leader with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has been accused of abusing her power, harassing employees and retaliating against other senior leaders who report to her.

The accusations have come in three separate complaints filed by employees who work in VISN 6—the VA’s regional office that is responsible for healthcare in North Carolina and Virginia—with the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.

OAWP was created by President Donald Trump in April 2017 to “discipline or terminate any VA manager or employee who has violated the public’s trust and failed to carry out his or her duties on behalf of veterans, and to recruit, reward, and retain high-performing employees,” among other things.

The office was further codified in a law enacted by Congress in June 2017.

Each of the three employees outlined grievances against DeAnne Seekins, the VISN 6 Director.

WBTV has agreed to conceal the details of two of the complaints, including the identity of the complainants, because the two employees feared further reprisal for blowing the whistle.

The third complaint was filed by Joseph Edger, who served as Deputy Network Director—the second-in-command in VISN 6—before Seekins got the job as director and continued in the role afterwards.

Edger is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who managed healthcare in the Army.

He filed his complaint with OAWP in February 2018.

“The Network Director (Mrs. Seekins) has actively abused her authority by defaming, harassment & intimidated, and threatening myself and VISN staff,” Edger wrote in his complaint.

Later in his submission to OAWP, Edger alleges Seekins’ behavior towards him was retaliation for disciplinary action he took against her when he was Deputy Network Director and she was the director of the Durham VA Medical Center, which reported to VISN 6.

“I feel that Mrs. Seekins may be retaliating against me for my actions while assigned as the Deputy Network Director under Mr. Dan Hoffmann’s leadership,” Edger said. “Mr. Hoffmann would oftentimes use me as an enforcer of policy and directives.”

Specifically, Edger said he was told to counsel Seekins when she ran a $20 million budget deficit one year while working as the director of the Salisbury VAMC.

A second VISN 6 employee who filed a complaint with OAWP accused Seekins of taking similar retaliatory action.

Through a spokesman, Seekins refused to issue a statement for this story.

The spokesman insisted that Seekins could not respond unless Edger filled out a waiver allowing her to speak. Seekins did not seek such a waiver from Edger and, instead, insisted a WBTV reporter obtain it.

Later, a second VA spokesman insisted the waiver was required as a “standard practice” of the agency but, when challenged by a WBTV reporter, could not provide a specific policy to support the claim.

Instead, Seekins sent an email to all VISN 6 staff on Friday in which she responded to the upcoming story.

The subject of her email was “Heads Up – Negative News Story (VISN 6).”

In the email, Seekins issued a response to details of the upcoming story that a WBTV reporter had provided a spokesman in an effort to obtain a comment to include in the story.

“I want to give you a heads up regarding a negative news story that we understand will run tomorrow in the Charlotte news market. Nick Ochsner of WBTV in Charlotte has notified us that the station intends to run his story about employee whistle blower complaints that allege I have personally fostered a hostile work environment for some employees in VISN 6,” Seekins’ email said.

“Mr. Ochsner is a very competent, aggressive and hard-hitting reporter who I respect. However, in this case, I believe he has been misguided. While the story contends that it is based on official complaints submitted to the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower protection (OAWP), I am aware of only one open complaint and unaware of any previous complaints of hostile work environment,” she continued.

By law, OAWP cannot disclose the identity of an employee who has filed a complaint with the office to the employee’s supervisor.

Sources familiar with Seekins’ communications strategy told WBTV on Friday that the same message sent to VISN 6 employees ahead of WBTV’s story was also sent to North Carolina’s congressional delegation and to various veterans service organizations.

Full Article & Source:
VA whistleblower complaints allege abuse, retaliation from regional director

Bedsores, neglect, alleged abuse: Inside low-rated VA nursing homes

Helga and Charles Amidon

BEDFORD, Mass. – The nurse’s aide was busy getting a patient ready for bed when she noticed a commotion behind a privacy curtain on the other side of the room. She heard Russ Bonanno, a 94-year-old veteran, shout, “Ow, ow, ow.”

“It sounded like fighting,” said Julee, who asked that her last name not be used out of fear of retaliation. When she went to check what was happening, she saw another aide trying to hoist Bonanno from his wheelchair to his bed, normally a two-person job.

Julee said she watched the other aide simply toss the elderly dementia patient onto the bed.

“Let me tell you how brutal that guy was with the veteran,” Julee wrote to her supervisor two days after the alleged incident May 18. “After he was done, (we) went and checked Mr. Bonanno. The guy was wet. Everything needed to be changed.”

The aide accused of roughly handling Bonanno quietly resigned, but Julee, the aide who blew the whistle, was fired two weeks later. She said her supervisor told her she had attendance problems.

Welcome to one of the lowest-rated nursing homes for veterans in the nation run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The facility, at the VA hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, is among 11 nationwide to earn the lowest-possible one-star rating from the agency based on both overall quality and the results of surprise inspections. The ratings are on a scale of one to five, with one being the lowest.

The others are scattered from Lyons, New Jersey, to Prescott, Arizona, and from Dayton and Chillicothe, Ohio, to Tampa, Florida. 

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Bedsores, neglect, alleged abuse: Inside low-rated VA nursing homes

Former Gov. Nikki Haley served with order to testify in SC disability case

COLUMBIA — United Nations Ambassador and former Gov. Nikki Haley has been served with an order to testify in a Greenville man's federal disability lawsuit after a judge dismissed objections by Gov. Henry McMaster.

Court records show one of her attorneys, James W. Fayssoux Jr. of Greenville, agreed on Oct. 5 to accept service of the order on behalf of Haley. He could not be reached for comment.

Whether Haley testifies, however, is still not certain because she had not been represented in the case by her own counsel until this month and her attorneys could object to her testimony.

U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis earlier this month dismissed concerns by McMaster's lawyers about Haley's testimony and directed that she be served with her order and that lawyers for the plaintiffs accommodate her UN schedule.

"To the extent defendant McMaster makes arguments on behalf of defendant Haley regarding the effectiveness of service and whether defendant Haley is being sued in her individual capacity, the Court rejects those contentions inasmuch as those issues must be raised, if at all, by defendant Haley," the judge wrote.

The lawsuit filed last year while Haley was still governor alleges that Johnny Timpson of Greenville was beaten, burned, subjected to physical, emotional, sexual abuse, neglect and financial exploitation while in the state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs system. He has named a number of defendants in addition to Haley, including state and local agencies and officials.

The suit seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, attorneys fees, compensation for Timpson's sister and various orders, including one to prohibit defendants from retaliating against plaintiffs, witnesses or their advocates.

Timpson was in the care of DDSN system facilities, including an Anderson County Disabilities and Special Needs Board group home from about 1968 to 2013, according to his family. His sister asked that she take over his care after finding burns on his arms in 2013, she said.

His allegations were reported by The Greenville News as part of a series examining the DDSN system and its problems, which include significant increases in abuse, neglect and exploitation allegations and critical-type incidents; critical state and federal audits; neglect and exploitation allegations, and critical incidents or deaths that exceed the state rates for many county disabilities agencies.

Haley is being sued, according to Judge Lewis, because the plaintiffs allege she "possessed personal knowledge of systemic abuse, neglect and exploitation of mentally disabled adults such as Timpson, failed to take reasonable action to protect them, and even retaliated against those who complained."

The Greenville News attempted to reach Haley through the U.S. Department of State and the UN scheduling office, where requests for interviews are sent. She could not be reached for comment.

The governor’s office lawyers had fought against Haley testifying, arguing that she should be dismissed from the litigation and asking for a protective order to prevent her deposition.

They also argued that too much time had lapsed, that Haley was an improper defendant and that Gov. Henry McMaster should be substituted for Haley since he is the current governor.

Judge Lewis ordered that a deposition be taken from Haley within 60 days of the order, which would be by Oct. 24.

According to court records, Haley also is represented by attorneys Paul Landis of Greenville and Butch Bowers, a Columbia lawyer who has represented Haley in the past.

Sandra Timpson has been caring for her disabled brother, Johnny, since discovering he had suffered years of abuse for years in the care of group homes. LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff

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Former Gov. Nikki Haley served with order to testify in SC disability case

Hidden camera captures nursing aides allegedly abusing grandmother

SHARON, Mass. - A hidden camera captured a 93-year-old great-grandmother being tossed around and her hair pulled in a Sharon nursing home and rehab last week.

The video, set up by her family in her room at Wingate at Sharon, shows two women toss the elderly resident into her wheelchair. The resident, whose family, has identified her only as Dorothy, then struggles to maintain her balance.

“Get the hell away from me,” Dorothy says. “You think you’re pretty smart,” as one aide shows Dorothy her fist. Seconds later, the other aide grabs her hair from behind and yanks her head around.

The video from March 5 begins with Dorothy, who has dementia, swearing at and exchanging swipes with the pair. She threatens to break one certified nursing assistant (CNA)’s nose and says she will call police. Her granddaughter Kristen says Dorothy was defending herself.

“She can’t really hurt you. She’s 98 pounds. They were picking her up and whipping her around,” Kristen said. “It’s awful. We haven’t even slept nights with the images in our head of what was taken place, and we weren’t there to help her.”



Sharon police investigating the case filed a court summons for Domingas Teixeira, 61, and Leonide Jean Paul Bien-Aime, 49, both of Brockton, on charges of assault and battery on a person over 60.

Teixeira denied physically assaulting Dorothy but declined to comment further without an attorney.

FOX25 tried to reach Bien-Aime at home but could not make contact with her.

Wingate confirmed to FOX25 both aides had been fired. The company sent the following statement to FOX25.

“Upon hearing this deeply upsetting news, we moved swiftly to terminate the two employees involved, conduct a full investigation and work with the authorities.  We have brought in a counselor to support the resident and family and are re-educating all of our staff on appropriate and compassionate patient care. We are confident that this is an isolated incident, because we know our dedicated staff members who work hard every day to ensure the safety and dignity of the residents for whom they care. Nonetheless, it is heartbreaking.”

A spokesperson for Wingate also provided a letter that was sent to residents’ families, informing them of the incident, promising it was isolated and pledging, “nothing is more important to us than the safety and dignity of our residents.”

Dorothy, sick with pneumonia and a urinary tract infection, has been transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital. There, Kristen said, she is happier. She will never return to Wingate, the family said.

“I’m disgusted. I’m sickened by it. She’s defenseless,” Kristen said. “We trusted this place to take care  of her, and this is what was taking place in their facility.”

In an effort to protect her own grandparent and others, Kristen has been sending letters to lawmakers urging them to reconsider an electronic monitoring bill that was never passed but was proposed more than 15 years ago to allow residents of nursing homes to keep a camera rolling in their room.

If you suspect elder abuse, report it to the Elder Abuse Hotline: 800.922.2275 (Voice/TTY) in Massachusetts or (603) 271-7014 in New Hampshire. 

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Hidden camera captures nursing aides allegedly abusing grandmother

Ex-employees allege nursing home tried to mislead inspectors on abuse

Two social workers allege they were fired from a suburban nursing home after refusing to fabricate medical records related to incidents of patient abuse, according to their pending lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court.

Some of their patient-abuse allegations were investigated separately by the Illinois Department of Public Health, which cited the facility for safety breaches, government records show.

Once called Burnham Healthcare but now known as Bria of River Oaks, the 309-bed home serves geriatric and bed-bound patients alongside younger adults with mental illness, substance abusers and convicted felons.

"There was no structure. It was dangerous," one of the social workers, Kenneth Allen, told the Tribune in an interview.

Avrum Weinfeld, CEO of the nursing home, declined to comment on specific incidents but called the allegations made by social workers in the lawsuit and in Tribune interviews baseless.

Weinfeld told the Tribune that administrators never attempted to mislead state inspectors. "There was no directive (to alter records), nor was there any proof of that," Weinfeld said. "Nothing has been proven and nothing will be proven."

The unadorned three-story brick building in Burnham has withstood years of state citations for violence, patient neglect and filth. Last year it received $16.5 million from Medicaid and Medicare while reporting $1.38 million in profits.

Records show that some of those federal health-care dollars went to Weinfeld's uncle, nursing home magnate Morris Esformes, whose son and close business partner, Philip Esformes, is being held without bond in a Miami federal detention cell on charges that he orchestrated a $1 billion Medicaid kickback scheme in Florida.

Morris and Philip Esformes in 2012 sold the Burnham home and three other Chicago-area facilities to companies run by Weinfeld and Weinfeld's brother-in-law, Daniel Weiss, but those homes continued to pay consulting and real estate fees to companies managed by Morris Esformes, state records show.

The Burnham facility faced allegations of violence both before and after that sale. The Chicago Tribune's 2009 "Compromised Care" investigation revealed the death of Thomas Donovan, who used a wheelchair. Donovan died in the home after a fellow resident allegedly beat Donovan, 63, with a chair. Preliminary Burnham police reports list 16 alleged assaults and batteries inside the facility since 2013, as well as two criminal sexual assault reports. None of those cases resulted in a prosecution, those records show.

The civil court allegations made by Allen and Olufunmibi Ogunyipe date to 2011 and continue into 2013, after Weinfeld took over. Paid roughly $13 per hour, the two social workers shared a second-floor office and each handled a caseload of 35 patients, according to court records and their interviews with the Tribune.

Among the accusations in their lawsuit, filed last year:

•Allen alleges that a supervisor told him to falsify the medical chart of a female resident who was hospitalized in 2012 with facial bruises and black eyes. Allen said he believes the woman was beaten by a fellow resident, but he was told to write that she had fallen. A state inspection report later found that the facility failed to properly investigate her family's complaint that she was assaulted.

•Allen alleges that after he documented a resident's rape complaint, a supervisor ripped Allen's report out of the medical file and tore it up. The state health department inspection concluded the facility had failed to thoroughly investigate the sexual assault allegation and to notify authorities.

•Ogunyipe alleges that, in the case of a 60-year-old resident who had repeatedly requested a discharge, a supervisor told him in 2013 to write up medical notes falsely stating that Ogunyipe had tried repeatedly to transfer the man but couldn't find a program with an open bed. A state health department inspection cited the facility for failing to assist the resident's request for a discharge.

About four days after that incident in summer 2013, Ogunyipe was terminated, records show. The facility alleged in its answer to the pending lawsuit that he failed to complete job duties and abandoned his post during work hours. Ogunyipe, initially hired as a security guard, started working at Burnham in 2009.

Allen worked at the facility from February to November 2012. The facility said Allen was not rehired in the transition of operational control from the Esformeses to their relatives.

In the lawsuit, Ogunyipe alleges that a supervisor tried to deceive state inspectors by removing disheveled residents who might trigger state scrutiny because they appeared neglected.

A supervisor gave him $30 to $50 to take the residents out of the building, buy them cigarettes, feed them at a McDonald's and claim they were going on a field trip, saying: "They can't be in the building," the suit states.

The facility denied the allegation in court papers.

Ogunyipe said in an interview that the administration wanted to conceal residents with untrimmed hair and soiled clothes because "you would know that they were not being cared for."

He also told the Tribune he witnessed fellow guards entice physically aggressive residents back to their rooms with a cigarette or snack, then punish them. "They would just close the door and — boom, boom, boom! Deal with the resident. Beat him up. Spit on his face and then walk out, close the door," Ogunyipe said.

In an interview, Weinfeld said: "Making up these kinds of allegations is horrible. We categorically say, no, those things did not happen."

The allegation about guards punishing residents is not mentioned in the lawsuit.

A 2012 state inspection report said two residents alleged guards beat or roughed them up in separate incidents. The report says that at least one guard at the home was fired as a result.

State inspectors have cited the facility for abuse-related incidents after Ogunyipe and Allen were terminated.

In 2014, a male resident entered a woman's room and exposed himself, saying, "I got to have that," then jumped on her bed, according to a state inspection report. She fought off the man and he was subsequently arrested, the state report said. The report said the facility could provide "no written evidence" that it immediately notified the state of the incident as required when residents are in jeopardy of harm.

That year the facility also failed to properly investigate or report altercations in which one resident suffered a black eye and another had an abrasion on his nose, state inspections say.

Amid these allegations of violence came citations for loose and peeling floor tiles, brown-stained ceiling panels and a buildup of dirt, dust and grime around air vents. "It would be nice to have a dresser that is not missing a drawer," a longtime resident told a state inspector in July 2015.

The inspector also reported that a bathroom shared by four residents "had a strong urine odor. The lights to the bathroom did not work and the tiles were cracked and in disrepair. The surrounding tile around the toilet area had a thick encrusted layer of unidentifiable stains."

In a corridor, the inspector noted an exposed, rusted ceiling pipe wrapped with an incontinence pad.

Weinfeld said these citations came amid repairs following a 2015 fire and added that his team has improved facility conditions by raising workers' wages, reducing the number of aggressive residents and investing "tremendous amounts of dollars" in upgrades and refurbishments.

"Today, you'd see a calmer place," he said. "It is a different building."

The home also switched to an electronic record-keeping system that can identify workers who try to alter or backdate records, he said.

Weinfeld worked his way up through the Esformes organization starting in 2001, serving as a registered agent and financial officer of their Chicago-area facilities before he teamed up with Weiss to purchase the four former Esformes homes.

According to state records, the Esformeses continued to manage a company that kept title to the home's underlying real estate after they sold the Burnham operation to Weinfeld's firm. That company drew $7.5 million in rent payments during the three years from 2013 through 2015, the records show.

But Weinfeld, who is a registered agent of the Esformes' real estate company, said he erroneously listed Philip Esformes as a manager of the firm in records he filed with the state.

He said the company is managed by Morris Esformes. Philip Esformes sold his interest in the company in 2012 and does not take a share of the rent, Weinfeld told the Tribune. "It was an oversight," Weinfeld said of the records.

Morris Esformes' attorney Harvey Tettlebaum said the rent payments were proper and standard for the industry.

Two of Morris Esformes' companies separately received $275,000 in consulting and administrative fees from the Burnham home in those three years, state records show. Weinfeld told the Tribune he bought one of those companies last year and stopped using the other.

The rent and back office expenses paid to the Esformes companies were necessary to patient care, Weinfeld added. "We're cognizant of the fact that it's taxpayer dollars," Weinfeld said. "It is a fair use of the money."

Weinfeld holds a 1.5 percent ownership interest in Harmony Health Center, one of the Miami-area facilities named in Philip Esformes' alleged kickback and fraud scheme, according to Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports. Weinfeld said he is a "silent partner" who has no role in that facility's operations.

Federal prosecutors allege that Philip Esformes shuttled disabled patients through two dozen of the Esformeses' Florida facilities, billing the government for services never delivered. The Justice Department says it is the largest health-care fraud case against an individual in U.S. history. Morris Esformes, who co-owns several of the Florida homes named in the indictment, has not been charged in the case.

"Philip Esformes continues to strenuously assert his innocence," his attorney Michael Pasano told the Tribune. "He is fighting these charges and looking to clear his name and the reputation of his nursing homes, which he insists deliver high-quality care."

Full Article & Source:
Ex-employees allege nursing home tried to mislead inspectors on abuse

See Also:
Nursing home operator from Chicago jailed as feds allege $1 billion scheme

Nursing home worker sought for alleged abuse

 

A former employee who handled patients at Golden Hill Nursing Home allegedly tormented and abused dementia patients in her care.

Ashley Nicole Wilcox, 21, of 2087 Martin Road, is facing criminal charges in connection with the alleged offenses. She is wanted by police, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.

New Castle police filed a criminal complaint in court Monday against Wilcox, alleging she was rough with patients who reportedly had severe dementia. In one instance, she reportedly had put a sock in one woman's mouth. An employee reported that incident had occurred on Feb. 29.

Staff members told police that Wilcox also placed her hand over the same woman's mouth and nose during the week of Jan. 31 through Feb. 6, and she yelled at the resident to shut up, the paperwork said. A staff member reported that she had to push Wilcox away from the woman to get her to stop, the court papers allege.

The staff members also related that Wilcox pinched a male patient's nipples because he grabbed her arm. During the same incident, Wilcox pulled the patient's shirt up around his neck and mouth and asked him, "can you breathe?" while telling the man to let go of her arm, the police report said. Staff members reported that Wilcox allegedly choked the man and covered his face with his shirt to a point where he could not breathe and was screaming at him, police reported from accounts of staff witnesses.

A staff member told police that Wilcox had been rough with one male patient while walking him down the hall to his room, and that she pushed the man into his bed when he grabbed her arm. The staff member reported that Wilcox twisted one of the man's fingers to get him to let go and that he was saying, "ow, let go," and she grabbed his wrists and pushed them into his chest, the police account states.

Another staff member described an incident around mid-January where Wilcox allegedly placed both hands over a woman's mouth and approached her from behind while the woman was sitting in a chair. Wilcox forced the woman's head back in the chair and her hands were tight over her mouth for about 30 seconds and Wilcox was laughing, the staff member reported, according to allegations in the court papers.

In yet another incident, a worker reported that Wilcox, around Feb. 6 or 7, removed the dentures of a woman with severe dementia, and the woman, who doesn't like her dentures removed, tried to bite Wilcox. The worker said that Wilcox took the woman's hand and shoved it into her mouth and as the woman was struggling with Wilcox, the court papers say.

Wilcox is facing four counts of stalking with intent to cause emotional distress and six counts each of simple assault and harassment.

Police were alerted March 10 about the incidents after three employees approached a supervisor about Wilcox abusing patients. They related the incidents to the supervisor on March 8, according to the police report. The police interviewed the supervisor and administrator Mark Nord about the matter and obtained written statements that had been gathered from the suspect and witnesses during the nursing home's internal investigation.

According to the police report, Wilcox initially was suspended from her job in March after the nursing home had initiated its own internal investigation, and Wilcox had given a written statement to the nursing home, denying all allegations.

Nord said Wednesday that Wilcox no longer works there. (Continue Reading)

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Nursing home worker sought for alleged abuse

In an Iowa courtroom, an astonishing case of sex and Alzheimer’s

By Sarah Kaplan
In late March, a county courtroom in Iowa heard motions ahead of the trial of Henry Rayhons, who is accused of having sex with his wife after Alzheimer’s left her incapable of giving consent. His trial was set to begin April 8.

They started flirting in choir, the vivacious retiree and the grandfatherly politician, both single after the deaths of their longtime spouses. Less than two years later, they were married in the church where they met, surrounded by a gaggle of children and grandchildren and hundreds of guests dancing the polka. It was an unexpected second chance at love for Donna Lou Young and Henry Rayhons, both past 70 at the time of their wedding.

“They were two good people who were good together,” the couple’s pastor recalled.

After a four-year battle with Alzheimer’s, Donna Lou Rayhons died in a nursing home in August, just four days shy of her 79th birthday. A week later, Henry Rayhons was arrested and charged with sexual abuse. State prosecutors accused him of having sex with his wife while she was incapacitated by dementia.

Rayhons’s trial, which begins Wednesday, is a rare and possibly unprecedented examination of a little-explored aspect of consent. While much of the discussion about rape these days swirls around the influence of drugs, alcohol and the culture on college campuses, the Rayhons case asks a much different question: When is a previously consenting spouse suffering from dementia no longer able to say yes to sex?

Katherine C. Pearson, who teaches and writes about elder law at Penn State University, told Bloomberg News that this is the first case of its kind she’s seen in more than 20 years of working in the field.

“This is maybe the last great frontier of questions about capacity and dementia,” she said. “… Any partner in a marriage has the right to say no. What we haven’t completely understood is, as in this case, at what point in dementia do you lose the right to say yes?”

Friends and family say that Donna Lou and Henry Rayhons, a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1997 until this year, were besotted with one another throughout their relationship. She often accompanied him to the state Capitol in Des Moines. He bought her dresses and acquired a bee suit so he could join her in her beekeeping.

“He treated her like a queen,” Charity McCauley Andeweg, who clerked for Rayhons, told Bloomberg.

But a few years into their marriage, Donna was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. She suffered headaches and forgetfulness, drove on the wrong side of the road and once put a single sock into the dryer instead of a full load of laundry, according to Bloomberg.

In March of last year, Donna’s daughter Linda Dunshee took her mother out to lunch. Beneath her winter coat and blazer, Donna was wearing only a sleep teddy that left her breasts exposed. Later, Donna put her hands in the toilet bowl in the restaurant bathroom, Dunshee told a state investigator.

On March 29, Donna was moved to Concord Care Center in Garner, Iowa, a five-minute drive from her home with Rayhons. Rayhons reportedly resisted the move and clashed with Donna’s daughters — both from her first marriage — over how she should be cared for at the facility.

In May, Dunshee and Donna’s other daughter, Suzan Brunes, met with Concord staff and drew up a care plan for Donna, according to a state affidavit. At the meeting, the women and doctors concluded that Donna was no longer able to consent to sex, a fact Rayhons was informed of.

But a week later, on May 23, surveillance video showed Rayhons spending about 30 minutes in his wife’s room. When he left, he was holding her underwear, which he dropped into a laundry bag in the hallway.

Donna’s roommate told nursing home staff that Rayhons had come into the room and closed a privacy curtain around his wife’s bed. She then heard noises indicating that Rayhons was having sex with Donna, the affidavit said.

That night, Brunes took Donna to the hospital for a rape test, Bloomberg reported. Her underwear and bedding were sent to a crime lab for an examination.

Shortly after, a judge approved Brunes’s application to become her mother’s temporary guardian, which cited issues between Rayhons, Concord staff and Donna’s other family members. Around the same time, a state investigator showed up at Rayhons’s home to interview him about the alleged assault. In the interview, Rayhons admitted to having “sexual contact” with his wife on May 23, according to the state affidavit.

Donna died just two months later, and Rayhons was arrested a week after that. Shortly before the charges were filed, Rayhons withdrew from a race to serve a 10th term as state representative for Iowa’s 8th District.

Rayhons’s prominence in the area prompted the Iowa attorney general’s office to seek to move the trial out of Hancock County, where prosecutors argued they would not be able to find an impartial jury after the charges had been covered so extensively in local news. A judge denied the request.

Now, as the case heads to trial, prosecutors will have to convince the jury on two points: First, that Rayhons had sex with Donna while she was at Concord Care, and second, that Donna was not capable of consenting to it.

The state crime lab found semen stains on Donna’s quilt and sheet that matched Rayhons’s genetic profile, the Associated Press reported.

If Rayhons is proved to have had sex with Donna, Iowa sexual assault law is vague about how the case should be treated. The state outlawed non-consensual sex between a husband and wife 25 years ago, Elizabeth Barnhill, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the Iowa City Press Citizen. State law also defines sex with a person suffering from a “mental defect or incapacity” as sexual abuse but is not explicit about what is meant by the term “mental defect.”

Meanwhile, Alzheimer’s experts differ on whether the disease really does preclude people from being able to give consent. Elizabeth Edgerly, a clinical psychologist who serves as chief program officer for the nonprofit Alzheimer’s Association, told the AP it can be hard to determine capacity in cases of dementia.

“Is the person capable of saying no if they don’t want to do something? That’s one of the biggest pieces,” she said.

Edgerly added that physical closeness with loved ones can often be helpful to people with the disease.

According to Bloomberg, in the months after moving to Concord Care, Donna fared poorly on the Brief Interview for Mental Status, a cognitive test that measures dementia by asking patients a series of memory questions. On a May 13 test, just 10 days before the alleged assault, she got a score of zero on the BIMS test.

But Douglas Wornell, a Tacoma, Wash., geriatric psychiatrist and author of the book “Sexuality and Dementia,” told Bloomberg it was “naïve” to conclude that Donna’s memory loss indicates she was incapable to knowing whether she wanted to have sex, which is “along the order of knowing you want some food,” he said. 

A statement from Rayhons’s family released after criminal charges were filed against him dismisses the notion that any contact between Rayhons and his wife could be considered rape.

“Donna’s location did not change Dad’s love for Donna nor her love for him. It did not change their marriage relationship. And so he continued to have contact with his spouse in the nursing home; who among us would not?” it read. “… Accusing a spouse of a crime for continuing a relationship with his spouse in a nursing home seems to us to be incredibly illogical and unnatural, as well as incredibly hurtful.”

Full Article & Source:
In an Iowa courtroom, an astonishing case of sex and Alzheimer’s

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Daughter Appointed Temporary Guardian of Representative Rayhons' Wife