Dec 1, 2008 10:53 pm US/Central
6 Teens Charged In Albert Lea Nursing Home Abuse
ALBERT LEA, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Prosecutors in Freeborn County have filed a range of criminal charges against six teens accused of abusing vulnerable residents at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea.
CBS
Prosecutors in Freeborn County have filed a range of criminal charges against six teens accused of abusing vulnerable residents at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea.
Two of the former employees -- 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson -- are charged as adults, while the other four are considered juveniles.
According to prosecutors, Broitzman and Larson are accused of physically and sexually assaulting patients in a nursing home just for laughs. Some of the details of this story are hard to believe and may be difficult to read.
Prosecutors say the girls got away with the abuse for months even though other teenagers knew about it.
Accusations that the teenagers spit in their mouths, spanked them and poked them in the breasts are just a few of the things prosecutors say these part-time nursing assistants did to 15 nursing home residents for at least five months.
Mark Anderson is the administrator for Good Samaritan Society. He said the last few months have been very hard.
"It's been very difficult for our staff, for our current residents, for our families. It's been a challenge for our community," Anderson said.
The sordid stories first came to light in May after a group of girls who were students at Albert Lea High School and worked at the Good Samaritan Society finally fessed up. Documents say Broitzman and Larson bragged to them about arousing male residents with Alzheimer's and dementia, and sticking their fingers in their rectums. It took seven months for charges to be filed.
"We are just really thankful that the proceedings are moving forward and hopefully can see some closure to this whole process," Anderson said.
Sue Johnson's mother is a resident at Good Samaritan Society and admits it was a difficult decision to make after hearing the abuse allegations.
"At the moment that we needed to bring her to a nursing home, we had no choice. They assured me when we brought her in that they were really watching every thing now," Johnson said.
The state said the nursing home did nothing wrong and court documents say "the girls were confident they would not get caught because the residents did not have their minds."
Broitzman and Larson are both charged with assault of a caregiver to a vulnerable adult and criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult, among other counts. If they are convicted, they could spend several years in jail and pay thousands of dollars in fines.
Four other girls were also charged with keeping their mouths shut while all this was apparently going on. All of the girls have been fired.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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