Contributed Post
After deliberating for three hours on Wednesday, the 7th of December, a jury found Patricia Ann Ogle not guilty of the neglect and abuse of her step-grandmother. The verdict was delivered shortly before 2:30 PM, at the end of a three-day trial. If she had been found guilty, Ogle could have faced a 10-year prison sentence.
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Standing outside Fredericksburg Circuit Court after the verdict, Ogle said “It’s been real tough, I’m just glad it’s over.”
At the onset of the case, Ogle faced charges of abuse and neglect causing serious injury, which arose following her 84-year-old step-grandmother’s death in April 2015. Ogle, 38, was also up against charges of abuse and neglect causing death, and involuntary manslaughter. However, those charges were dropped a week prior to the trial.
According to the verdict, Ogle found Betty Catlett had passed away in her bed on April 15, 2015. Her step-grandmother, who had suffered from dementia and a range of other health problems, had recently been moved from an assisted living center to be cared for by Ogle and her boyfriend at a home on Ashby Street, Fredericksburg, VA.
Following the death, it was found that Catlett had extensive bruising all over her body, which prompted an investigation by police. Ogle explained that the bruises were caused the day before, by a struggle to get the senior into bed. People with advanced dementia and similar neurological diseases have been known to become uncooperative and even aggressive due to their condition.
The carer was charged a mere three days after Catlett’s death, but the case was circulated around various courts until the not guilty verdict was passed on Wednesday the 7th.
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Though this case returned a not guilty verdict, it’s no secret that assisted living negligence cases are a massive problem in the States and other developed nations. What’s even more worrying, as revealed in recent reports by the Government Accountability Office, is that the extent of abuse by guardians is a little hazy, due to limited data on several key factors. These include the number of older adults in guardianship, the number of guardians serving older adults, and the cases relating to abuse and neglect.
One of the most widespread forms of abuse is financial exploitation, according to various court officials studying the limited data that is accessible. Several committees and pressure groups dealing with elderly abuse cases have also tried to draw more attention to the problem of financial exploitation.
One case in Belfast, ME, ended in an attorney being sentenced to 30 months in prison, after being found guilty of stealing nearly $500,000 from two assisted living residents. Both of the victims had made the lawyer their financial agent following a decline in their cognitive ability, along with other health complications. Both believed they were using the services of a trusted professional, but the thefts were identified by a local bank employee who saw questionable transactions and contacted authorities.
Though elderly abuse is a bigger talking point than ever, more work needs to be done to eradicate this horrendous crime.
