Guardians from Hell: Part 2 Update into Investigation of systemic guardianship abuse in Northern Michigan

Part 1: Guardians From Hell

After the above article was published detailing elder abuse by professional guardians in Northern Michigan, I visited the Oakland County Probate Court to watch a June 27 hearing on a petition for visitation brought by Mimi Brun who has not seen her mother Virginia Wahab for the two-years since Mimi’s power of attorney was tossed out Wahab had been assigned a professional guardian Jon Munger.What is happening in Oakland County is systemic and in literally hundreds of pages of documents I have already collected, I am seeing the same pattern in multiple cases involving at least six professional attorney/guardians there and three out of the four judges.

The guardians are alerted to a new admission by a nursing home with whom they have a downstream relationship. The nursing home then files a petition for guardianship which is granted by an Oakland County judge regardless of an existing power of attorney or whether or not the senior or his/her/their family is represented by counsel. The guardian then immediately halts visitation by the family members. In complete control of his ward’s medical and financial life, he proceeds to strip the estate, sell the house at far below market cost and bill the ward thousands. Within months, the ward has been declared both incapacitated and destitute. The guardian then applies for Medicaid benefits on behalf of the nursing home. Both the guardian and the nursing home make a tremendous profit while the ward is left to rot, often in a substandard facility.

In the Wahab case, detailed in the article, the reason that Munger had been assigned was stated as a past due-bill owed Lourdes and a need for the organization to apply for Medicaid benefits for Wahab. There is no Michigan statute that allows for a petition to be made or a guardian to be assigned because a nursing facility is owed money. 

Munger has kept Wahab at Lourdes in almost total isolation. However, on the 27th, she had been brought to the court while her daughter’s petition was heard. Wahab was surrounded by at least five Lourdes staff members including the organization’s CEO Maureen Comer. As soon as Munger saw my media badge, he left the court. He was instead represented by his attorney Joseph Ehrlich. Neither would answer any of my questions.

Once mother and daughter were finally together, both were in tears. Wahab repeated, again and again, that she wanted to go home with her daughter; that she did not want to remain at Lourdes any more.

Less than two minutes passed before Ehrlich suddenly barged toward the two and violently ripped the wheel chair from Brun. Virginia was visibly jolted by the experience.

“My turn,” Ehrlich said.

There was a court security camera directly behind us. The incident was witnessed by a half-dozen people. Brun screamed in pain and rage and tried to push Ehrlich away from her mother. He was smiling as a Lourdes aide quickly took Wahab back in to the court room. Even though Ehrlich was neither Wahab’s guardian nor an employee at Lourdes he would later state in a police report that he had been “asked by Lourdes staff to retrieve Virginia.”

In that same report, Ehrlich charged Brun with assault. The report stated that the court’s cameras were not functioning during the incident. Two of the witness statements are missing. Fortunately, I had my own camera rolling. Following a subpoena, that footage is now in the hands of Brun’s attorney.

In court, Brun’s attorney argued that there was no legal reason to keep the two apart and that their love was clearly evident. When Ehrlich addressed presiding Judge Linda Hallmark, his statements made during a 20-minute monologue were replete with inaccuracies including the date that Munger received guardianship. He stated it as June 19, 2016. It was actually ten days later. Yet, Hallmark refused to grant the visitation. Ehrlich instead called for and was granted an evidentiary hearing July 30. Wahab was immediately transported back to Lourdes. Neither she nor her daughter were permitted to speak.

June 27 was petition day at the Oakland County Court. As soon as people saw my press badge, I was approached by at least 15-20 different families all begging me to write about their case. It was as if I had carried a loaf of bread into a village of starving people. Midway through the morning, I was escorted out of the building by at least a half-dozen sheriff’s deputies who were acting on orders of the courts judicial attorney Ryan Deel’s claims that I had not been given permission by the clerk of the court to be there.

I don’t think they were concerned about such an action any more than the Detroit AG Bill Schuette, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder or Oakland County’s senators and house reps were interested in commenting about the issue. They know what I know I know – that the story will go away because it isn’t considered worthy of mass-media attention. The simple truth of American culture is that if my story had been about a 9-year-old girl and not a 94-year-old woman, this would be all over the internet and OpEds across national print and online outlets would be apoplectic in their demand that something be done about Oakland County.

The truth no one wants to admit is that this country has been and will always be a place for the young. It does not serve you to be old in America. Now that the boomers are gathering for what has been termed a “silver tsunami,” the gravy train presently running smack through the center of the Oakland County Probate Court is about to become endless in length.

These boomers face the same fate as Wahab and countless others before them because we are not at a place in America where people are given a chance to look beyond the news that is told because it is popular and focus on the news that must be told because it isn’t.

So here is the news that isn’t. Here is what we do not want to know:

According to an Oakland County case load report, total dispositions of guardianship and conservatorship cases numbered over 1,900 in 2017 alone.

An anonymous source inside Oakland County Probate told me that Munger has had well over 1,600 wards from past and present cases.

I’m going to carry on regardless. If I have to I’ll bet the farm on getting this story finished and the word out about these Probate Courts because something has to be done and someone has to try.

www.gretchenrachelhammond.com

“There was an emperor who asked a shepherd’s boy, ‘How many seconds in eternity?’ The shepherd’s boy replied ‘There’s this mountain of pure diamond. It takes an hour to climb it, and an hour to go around it! Every hundred years, a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on the diamond mountain. And when the entire mountain is chiseled away, the first second of eternity will have passed!’ You must think that’s a heck of a long time. Personally, I think that’s a heck of a bird.”

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Guardians from Hell: Part 2 Update into Investigation of systemic guardianship abuse in Northern Michigan

State attorney general praises new law expanding prosecutions of elder abuse

Attorney General Josh Shapiro

The legislation expands prosecutorial powers to go after those who abuse a care-dependent person.

Written by Nicole C. Brambila

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro praised a Berks County lawmaker during a luncheon Friday for his work passing legislation that expands prosecutorial powers to go after those who abuse a care-dependent person.

That legislation, signed into law by the governor last month, had been introduced every session since 2007.

Shapiro credited the legislative success to the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Jim Cox, a Spring Township Republican, Chief Deputy Attorney General Laurie Malone's doggedness and the Reading Eagle's reporting.

“It's hard to get a bill passed,” Shapiro said after his remarks. “It is really hard, especially with all the competing interests, even if it's a subject matter like this that you think can draw strong bipartisan support. But (Cox) stayed with it and he got it done.”

Although tasked with investigating and prosecuting fraud, abuse and neglect, Pennsylvania did not have statutory provisions to prosecute abuse.

On June 28, Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 53 into law, amending the criminal statute to include language that adds abuse of a care-dependent person, as well as neglect resulting in death.

Elder abuse can take many forms and can be physical, emotional, sexual or through neglect or financial exploitation.

First introduced by former state Rep. Mauree Gingrich in 2007 after residents at a Lebanon County assisted living home were fed rotten food and put to work stuffing newspaper inserts, the bill's earlier versions had passed the House but languished in the Senate.

Cox said the media attention helped push the bill along in the Senate.

“The focus I had, essentially, is we've got to care for those who can't protect themselves,” said Cox. “When push came to shove, I couldn't let the abuse continue.”

The new law goes into effect Aug. 27.

Elder abuse is on the rise. Pennsylvania Department of Health data show substantiated abuse in nursing homes more than tripled from 2012 to 2016, the latest available.

The problem is only expected to worsen as baby boomers turn 65.

According to federal data, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has prosecuted the lowest percentage of patient care cases of all states.

State and local officials expressed high hopes Friday that the amended statute would change that.

The new law, however, stops short of including penalties for those who fail to report suspected abuse to law enforcement. It's a problem the Eagle identified in a November investigation that found these crimes frequently go unreported.

Berks lawmakers acknowledged Friday that more needs to be done.

“This is just a landing point,” said state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Ruscombmanor Township Democrat. “We have more to do, but it's a good start.”

The Berks County Area Agency on Aging hosted Friday's luncheon, its second annual symposium, at the Inn at Reading, Wyomissing, with the goal of educating those who work in the aging and criminal justice systems to better recognize elder abuse.

Roughly 80 people attended, including Dr. C. Eve Kimball. A West Reading pediatrician for more than five decades, Kimball said elder abuse education should be regarded as being as important as training and reporting requirements for those who work with abused children.

“As a physician, I have not received any training in how to identify or report elder abuse,” Kimball told Shapiro during a question-and-answer session facilitated by Berks District Attorney John T. Adams. “I think we need it badly.”

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State attorney general praises new law expanding prosecutions of elder abuse

Cops: Nursing home workers duct-taped patient to chair

Lashron Williams and Phygelle Brudent

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Two Florida nursing home employees are charged with using duct tape to restrain and quiet a patient with dementia.

Boynton Beach police said in a news release Friday that 52-year-old Lashron Williams and 44-year-old Phygelle Brudent, who worked at Regal Park Assisted Living Facility, duct-taped a 67-year-old woman to a chair and used tape to cover her mouth. They were arrested Thursday and charged with elder abuse and false imprisonment. 

Detectives say Brudent confessed to duct-taping the victim July 3, telling them the woman wouldn’t remain quiet. 

Williams told police Brudent duct-taped the victim. She said she uncovered the patient’s mouth to give her sleeping pills. She said she told Brudent it was wrong to duct-tape patients, but did not report her. 

Both were being held Friday at the Palm Beach County Jail on $3,000 bail.

Full Article & Source:
Cops: Nursing home workers duct-taped patient to chair

NM guardianship reforms take effect

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Multiple state agencies on Friday outlined the more stringent reporting requirements and oversight mechanisms meant to improve a New Mexico guardianship system rocked by recent scandals.

The changes come courtesy of a new law that took effect July 1.

Senate Bill 19 was designed to prevent abuse and exploitation of thousands of incapacitated people in the state who are under court-ordered guardianship or conservatorship. Guardians make personal and health decisions for those they oversee. Conservators manage finances and sometimes property of those under their charge.

The legislation opens guardianship hearings to the public — previously the law required those to be closed unless the incapacitated person requested an open hearing. It also restricts guardians’ ability to ban family members from visiting their incapacitated loved ones.

Recent changes also mean guardians and conservators must keep the protected person’s financial records for seven years and comply with requirements of any audit of the person’s account, inventory, report or property; and they must submit additional information about the person’s finances and health to district courts, according to a news release.

In addition, the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Office of the State Auditor will begin a pilot project to audit and review guardianship and conservatorship cases, the release said.

District courts can now refer conservatorship cases to the auditor’s office for review and evaluation of the person’s financial affairs. The auditor also can randomly conduct financial and compliance audits of guardians for those served by a publicly funded program through the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and Office of Guardianship.

“All three branches of government — Legislative, Executive and Judicial — came together and worked cooperatively on guardianship reforms to promote and protect the well-being of New Mexicans unable to manage their own affairs,” Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura said in a statement.

The Legislature allocated $1 million to the Administrative Office of the Courts for guardianship reform, and a steering committee representing all branches of government convened to help with the law’s implementation and make recommendations about how to use the money, the release said.

Full Article & Source:
NM guardianship reforms take effect

Little Rock attorney jailed in theft case in court

Matthew Mahlon Henry

A Little Rock lawyer, suspended over questions about more than $400,000 owed to one former client, made his first Pulaski County Circuit Court appearance Thursday to answer a felony theft charge involving $25,000 of another ex-client's money.

Matthew Mahlon Henry, 45, was arrested on the theft charge May 10, but he's been in jail since March 22 for contempt of court after he failed to obey one circuit judge's order to turn over the $25,000 and provide an accounting of his lawyer trust account. The judge has ordered Henry jailed until he surrenders the money.

By law, lawyers who handle money for their clients are required to keep those funds in a special escrow account until the monies can be dispensed.

The state regulators who suspended Henry's law license stated that he "presently poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and to his clients if he continues to practice law."

Among Henry's legal problems are the findings of a second judge that the divorced father of two owes about $3,400 in child support, which is about two months' worth, although his ex-wife alleges that he owes about twice that much. That judge also found Henry in contempt after he bounced a check trying to pay the money, court filings show.

Thursday, Henry was before his third circuit judge, Leon Johnson, to have his trial on the Class B felony charge scheduled. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Henry appeared without legal representation, so the judge gave him a week to decide whether he will try to retain counsel or ask for a public defender.

Police and prosecutors say Henry stole the money last October from Texas building contractor Chris Irving, who had hired Henry to represent Irving's company, CSI Renovations, and gave Henry the money to put up for a work bond for a job he had in Fairfield Bay.

Two months later, Henry began to claim the money was his, owed to him for the work he'd done for Irving. He sued Irving in December, representing to the court that he had actual possession of the money.

The lawsuit brought him before his first circuit judge, Mackie Pierce. Court records show he asked Pierce to hold the money in a court account until a trial could be held to determine who was entitled to it.

Irving's attorney, Tre Kitchens, rebuffed Henry's claim on the money, telling the judge that Henry had no legal right to the money and could show no evidence he was entitled to it, court filings show.

"The complaint filed by the plaintiff does not contain a legal or factual basis for the plaintiff simply keeping the defendants' money," Kitchens' response to the lawsuit states. "The complaint does not include ... any other justification or basis for the plaintiff keeping the defendants' money."

Pierce sided with Irving in January, dismissing Henry's lawsuit five weeks after it was filed, and gave Henry 24 hours to to turn over the money to Kitchens.

The judge also ordered Henry to turn over copies of the lawyer's trust account bank records for the past four months.

But Henry did not comply. Two days after he missed the judge's deadline, Pierce again ordered him to turn over the records, this time warning Henry he was considering holding the attorney in contempt.

The judge even had his bailiff, Kevin Clifton, go to Henry's Spring Street office to serve the order. Irving's lawyer also had the order served on Henry at the office, court filings show.

Pierce ultimately gave Henry three chances over three months to comply with his orders. He ordered Henry arrested in March when the lawyer did not show up for a hearing on the issue. Finally, at an April 9 hearing, Pierce ordered Henry jailed until he pays Irving the money after Henry declined to answer questions about the case, citing his Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination.

"Matt Henry is ordered to be held in the Pulaski County jail until such time as he purges himself of contempt by delivering $25,000 to defendants' attorney," Pierce wrote in his order issued that same day.

Henry's attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, challenged the legality of Henry's continuing incarceration, accusing Pierce of illegally punishing Henry for declining to answer questions.

In court filings, Rosenzweig states that Henry, contrary to his initial claim, does not have the $25,000. He argued that Henry should be released because, since Henry cannot come up with the money to satisfy the judge, he will never meet the release conditions Pierce has imposed.

"Civil contempt is coercive in nature, and consequently there is no justification for confining ... a person who lacks the present ability to comply," Rosenzweig wrote in a motion for Henry's release. "Such imprisonment violates the due process guarantees of the United States and Arkansas Constitutions. In addition, the continued incarceration violates the prohibition on imprisonment for debt of Article 2, Section 16, of the Arkansas Constitution."

Rosenzweig argued that Pierce should release Henry and allow prosecutors to file criminal charges, if they deem it necessary, which would allow Henry the opportunity to be released ahead of trial on bail.

Pierce rejected those arguments. The case is now on appeal before the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Henry's law license was suspended on March 7 by the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct.

Court records show that Henry is one of six lawyers suspended this year. Eight were suspended in 2017.

According to the two-page suspension order, about $400,000 from one client that was deposited into Henry's trust account in August 2015 is missing.

Court records show Henry handled the probate case of a 77-year-old man, Keshavial Patel, of Jefferson, who died in India in January 2015. Patel left behind an estate of savings and property worth at least $1.7 million to his only son, a Texas man who hired Henry.

Court filings show that in February, the man hired new legal counsel to take over the case from Henry. But Henry repeatedly failed to complete the necessary paperwork to turn over the case to the new lawyer and has yet to surrender the remaining funds, $403,658, from the estate, court filings show.

The suspension order also cites Henry's failure to obey Pierce's court order to turn over his bank records and the $25,000. The order also notes his child-support issues before Judge Mike Reif and states that Henry has had 10 new grievances filed against him over the past two years.

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Little Rock attorney jailed in theft case in court

New staffing law, old struggles bedevil California nursing homes

Gabby Carrillo, a certified nursing assistant, serves a patient a meal at the Californian-Pasadena, a nursing home in Pasadena. A new state law will require that patients receive a minimum number of hours per day from CNAs, but homes fear they won't meet the requirement. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)

 The 93-year-old dementia patient was getting anxious in her wheelchair.

The woman, a resident of the Californian-Pasadena nursing home, wanted to see her husband but had forgotten he was at a nearby hospital.

Holding the chair steady was a composed Gabby Carrillo, a certified nursing assistant who had witnessed this behavior before.

“We try to see things in their shoes,” said Carrillo, a CNA for more than three years. “Doing this job can be exhausting, not just physically but mentally too. Over time, you learn to cope with it.”

Despite the challenges, the 27-year-old professes a love for her job, which involves bathing, feeding and attending to other daily needs of patients. But the stressful work — coupled with low wages and a booming economy — has made it more difficult than ever for nursing homes to fill the position.

Now, state legislation that went into effect July 1 is putting even more pressure on the state’s 1,000-plus nursing homes, which some in the industry say could be forced to turn away or even discharge patients as a result.

The law, championed by organized labor and patient advocates, tightened staffing requirements for direct caregivers and added new ones specifically for certified nursing assistants.

Carrillo assists several patients at the Californian-Pasadena nursing home. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)

The Service Employees International Union, which pushed for the law and represents nursing assistants, acknowledges that nursing homes face a challenge, but said there is an overriding health-and-safety issue.

“There must be enough direct care staff to meet the quality care needs of nursing home residents and ensure a healthy workload for every caregiver,” said an SEIU local representative who declined to be identified.

Quality-of-care concerns have long plagued nursing homes and are well documented, most recently in a May report by California State Auditor Elaine Howle.

The report dinged the California Department of Public Health for its oversight of nursing homes. And it found a one-third increase from 2006 to 2015 in violations of federal regulations that were likely to cause serious injuries or death.

“We are at rock bottom,” said Patricia McGinnis, director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a patient advocacy group. “I don’t ever want to go to a nursing home, and I don’t know anyone who would.

The new law requires facilities to provide 3.5 hours of direct patient care each day, up from 3.2 hours. But the primary worry for nursing home operators is a first-ever requirement that 2.4 of those hours must be filled by CNAs.

The department will begin enforcing the law July 1, 2019, and homes that fail state audits face penalties of $15,000 to $30,000.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
New staffing law, old struggles bedevil California nursing homes

Adelaide lawyer accused of stealing $850,000 as part of deceased estates 'sham'

Stephen McNamara

An Adelaide lawyer has gone on trial in the District Court accused of stealing $850,000 from deceased estates and fabricating documents to cover his tracks.

Stephen McNamara, 63, who ran a law firm called Commercial and General Law, was arrested in February 2015 after police raided his law firm and seized computers and documents.

He was charged with 17 counts of theft — alleged to have happened between November 2011 and July 2013 — and 16 counts of using fabricated evidence.

In his opening address, prosecutor James Slocombe told the court Mr McNamara was approached by the executor of two deceased estates and the funds were transferred to the law firm's trust account.

"On the prosecution's case Mr McNamara abused the trust that was placed in him and instead of honestly and diligently holding onto the estate funds as he was suppose to do, he took the money to use for his own purposes," he said.

"He used a well-sophisticated and dishonest system involving sham investments to companies to make it look like the money was being carefully invested for the benefit of the two estates."

"What the accused was really doing was not investing the money, it was all a sham."

It is alleged Mr McNamara was moving the money out of bogus investment accounts and into a number of other bank accounts which he used to pay for personal expenses including mortgage repayments.

The court heard when the beneficiaries of one of the deceased estates became fed up with Mr McNamara's "excuses and delay tactics" about why they had not received their share of the will, they made a complaint to the Law Society of South Australia.

"They weren't receiving their entitlement because Mr McNamara had used it all, the money was gone," Mr Slocombe said.

"What they did receive was a run-around, excuse after excuse, delay after delay."

The court heard the Law Society appointed a temporary supervisor to Mr McNamara's law firm while they investigated his practice.

As a result, Mr McNamara launched legal proceedings in the Supreme Court against the Law Society, challenging its decision.

On the prosecution's case, Mr McNamara then fabricated documents, including investment certificates, to cover his tracks and make it look like the estate funds had been properly invested.

"Those bogus documents were designed to hide the true nature of what happened to the estate funds and they were in effect an attempt to seemingly legitimise what were really sham investments," Mr Slocombe said.

It is further alleged that he enlisted the help of his associate, Philip John Pitman, 53, who stands co-accused in the trial of one count of using fabricated evidence.

Craig Caldicott, who is representing Mr McNamara, said that the court would hear evidence about how funds placed into a lawyer's trust account do not earn interest.

"If monies are to remain in a trust account for a long period of time, there can be an obligation of lawyers to invest that money out of the trust account into an investment body whereby interest can be earnt," he said.

The trial before Judge Paul Muscat and a jury is expected to run for two weeks.

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Adelaide lawyer accused of stealing $850,000 as part of deceased estates 'sham'

Elderly Alzheimer's patient beaten at Arvada assisted living community; caregiver facing arrest

ARVADA, Colo. — A former caregiver at an assisted living community in Arvada is accused of assaulting an Alzheimer’s patient, Contact7 Investigates has learned.

Arvada police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Gwendolyn Kentris on allegations she assaulted a resident in the Ralston Creek Neighborhood in March.

According to a police report, Kentris denied the abuse but admitted to forcefully restraining 74-year-old Karlene O’Brien because she was “one of the worst patients… who was usually fighting and biting.” Kentris also told police she has no license and received very little training, noting she returned to her previous job making cardboard boxes after the incident.

O’Brien suffered broken bones and several facial injuries along with abrasions on her knee and elbow, according to a police report.

Several Ralston Creek employees reportedly told police they either witnessed or overheard Kentris yelling and cursing at the dementia patient. One employee said she saw Kentris shove the victim and pry her hand off another caregiver’s hand.

One employee told police she heard O’Brien saying “Help me,” and another reported hearing O’Brien say “She’s going to kill me.”

Contact7 Investigates obtained a voicemail placed to the family of the victim the night of the incident in which a Ralston Creek staff member claimed O’Brien had injured herself with a coat hanger.

“She did have an incident not too long ago. We were trying to calm her down because she was hitting one of our workers,” the employee said in the recording. “She ended up scratching up her face with a coat hanger.”

Robert O’Brien, Karlene’s husband, told Contact7 Investigates she had been living at Ralston Creek for less than three weeks when she was attacked. When he visited her in the hospital he was immediately skeptical she could have caused the injuries on her own, as staff had initially told him.

"She was as badly beaten as anybody I've ever seen,” Robert said. “I thought she had been scratched on the face, punched in the mouth... had a black eye... so punched in the eye. She had broken bones in both hands.”

O’Brien said Karlene was diagnosed with dementia ten years ago. He had been his wife’s primary caregiver in their home for years. Two years ago, as her symptoms progressed, their family decided to look for outside help. They said they researched about 20 facilities before settling on Ralston Creek.

After the incident, Robert O'Brien said administrators told him the “memory care” facility was unequipped to care for her and she could not return.

“I would never recommend anybody send their loved one there,” Robert said.

O’Brien’s family filed a lawsuit in April against Kentris and Ralston Creek.

A Colorado Bureau of Investigation arrest history linked to the same name and date of birth as the Kentris facing arrest in the Arvada case show numerous arrests including felony convictions for drugs in 2011, another 2011 conviction for identity theft, and a 2013 drug felony.

A spokesperson for Ralston Creek’s parent company, the Haverland Carter Lifestyle Group based in Albuquerque, N.M., told Contact7 an investigation is currently underway to determine how Kentris passed a background check to work for the facility.

In a response to the lawsuit filed in Jefferson County district court, attorneys representing Ralston Creek said the facility initiated an investigation as soon as it was made aware of abuse allegations.

Full Article & Source:
Elderly Alzheimer's patient beaten at Arvada assisted living community; caregiver facing arrest

Care facility operator sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting disabled resident

Clarence Mielke

As he faced a judge for sentencing Tuesday, Clarence “Skip” Mielke continued to maintain that he was innocent of charges that he sexually assaulted a disabled woman who lived in the care facility he and his wife operated.

Mielke, 74, was convicted by a jury in March of second-degree sexual assault of a mentally ill victim and second-degree sexual assault by an employee of a residential facility. He was found not guilty by the same jury of four similar charges involving the same victim.

While he said he had empathy for the woman who testified at trial that he assaulted her, Mielke continued to deny he had committed any crime.

“I apologize to no one for something I did not do. I never did, nor would I ever do, anything to hurt” the woman, he said Tuesday.

The victim in the case was a resident of Carey Manor, the residential care facility Mielke’s wife owned and operated in Pleasant Prairie. Mielke and his wife lived in an apartment inside the facility, and he acted as the caretaker and financial officer for the business. The woman he was convicted of assaulting has Huntington’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder

Mielke, who retired as a captain with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, maintained Tuesday that his case received undo attention because of his involvement with law enforcement.

He asked rhetorically whether his case would have received any media attention “if I was average Joe Citizen,” then answered, “I doubt it.”

Judge Chad Kerkman said it was “unfortunate that you are not remorseful” and said that it lends credence to the victim’s testimony that Mielke had told her, “I do what I want” when she had told him she did not want his sexual attention.

Kerkman pointed out that at trial, not only did the victim testify that she had been assaulted, but Mielke’s DNA was found inside the woman’s bra and two employees of Carey Manor testified they had observed what they believed was Mielke forcing the woman to perform oral sex. Those two women reported that incident to Mielke’s wife, and then to police, bringing on the investigation that led to the charges against him.

“The jury pretty much made a finding that you lied,” Kerkman said.

Kerkman sentenced Mielke to five years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision, along with being listed on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. He will receive credit for 119 days spent in jail since his conviction.

The state had asked for a 15-year prison sentence, saying he took advantage of a disabled woman who is dying of a degenerative disease and who was entrusted to the care of Mielke and his wife.

“That’s pretty reprehensible,” prosecutor Kevin Shomin said. “That’s preying on the vulnerable.”

Defense attorney Frank Parise had argued against a prison sentence, saying that Mielke is in poor health.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the state’s recommendation here is a death sentence,” Parise said.

Full Article & Source: 
Care facility operator sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting disabled resident