A 24-year-old Florida woman has been charged with battery of a person over 65 in connection with the alleged assault of an elderly dementia patient. The woman was employed as a caregiver at the assisted living facility where the alleged assault took place. She appeared in a Seminole County criminal court for an arraignment hearing on Nov. 3, and she was released from custody after posting a $5,000 bond.
Violent assault
According to media reports, an investigation into the alleged assault was launched when the victim’s husband approached law enforcement. When investigators watched surveillance footage that had been recorded on the night of Oct. 27, they observed the woman become violent when the resident she was escorting to her room became belligerent. The footage allegedly shows the victim being dragged into her room by her hair.
Screaming heard
The surveillance cameras also recorded the sound of the victim screaming for about five minutes after she had been dragged into her room. The screaming stopped when another caregiver entered the room. In a report the woman made to her supervisor about the incident, she is said to have admitted striking the victim on the face with an object and pushing her face into a wall. The victim was transported to a nearby medical facility two days after the alleged assault. Her medical records reveal that she was treated for injuries that would be consistent with assisted living facility abuse.
Nothing done
It is worrying that nothing was done about this incident until the victim’s husband contacted law enforcement. Media reports suggest that the woman charged with battery admitted assaulting a resident in a report made to her supervisor, which should have been enough to warrant further action. If the victim had been a widow, the assault against her may never have come to light.
