Monday: 6 teens charged in nursing home abuse

Six young women are accused of groping and taunting seven residents at the Good Samaritan nursing home in Albert Lea., or witnessing the alleged events.

By WARREN WOLFE, Star Tribune

Last update: December 4, 2008 - 8:13 AM

The eight young women attended high school together and worked together part-time at the Good Samaritan nursing home in Albert Lea, Minn.

A criminal complaint filed Monday says they also laughed together early this year as they spat in residents' mouths, poked and groped their breasts and genitals and at times taunted them until they screamed -- or witnessed those events.

Charged Monday with maltreatment of seven residents were Brianna Marie Broitzman, 19, who faces 11 charges, and Ashton Michelle Larson, 18, who faces 10. Neither returned calls Monday seeking a comment or the name of their attorneys.

The six others, all 17 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, were identified only by birthdates and initials. Four were charged Monday in juvenile court with failure to report maltreatment.

The allegations became public in August when state Health Department inspectors concluded that four aides, to make their "work fun," had abused 15 frail residents.

Broitzman and Larson were charged Monday with fifth-degree assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failing to report suspected maltreatment. All are gross misdemeanors, with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine for each count.

If found guilty, "they most likely will face suspended jail sentences and probation, so they'd have the threat of jail hanging over them if they get in more trouble," said Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson, who filed the charges Monday.

The incidents allegedly occurred between Jan. 1 and May 1. The home fired the four aides cited in the Health Department report soon after it learned of the allegations in May.

Since summer, Nelson has said that prosecuting the aides could prove difficult because the evidence is largely based on their own statements and those made by another aide who blew the whistle to the home's administrators while she was being fired for swearing in front of a resident. That aide was among those charged as a juvenile.

No fear of getting caught

According to the complaint: "MRW stated that they openly discussed things among themselves. She stated the girls were confident they would not get caught because 'residents did not have their minds.'"

Another aide, identified as RMM, said the group gathered at breaks at work or school to "talk and laugh about the incidents," the complaint said.

The Health Department's Office of Health Facilities Complaints investigated the allegations in May. It said all 15 of the abused residents had Alzheimer's disease or a similar dementia, and some were combative, easily agitated or blind. Its 14-page report included many of the details listed in the criminal complaint filed Monday.

The Health Department's findings were turned over to the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry, which bars aides who have maltreated nursing home residents from continuing in that line of work. Last year the department substantiated 68 cases of maltreatment in Minnesota nursing homes.

Attorney General Lori Swanson has considered prosecuting the two women who were adults at the time of the alleged abuse. Her office cannot prosecute juveniles.

Last week it declined to take the cases because three of the aides have challenged the Health Department's findings and their subsequent disqualification to work with vulnerable adults. Swanson's office will represent the Health Department in any civil hearings and wants to keep the civil and criminal proceedings separate, said Ben Wogsland, her spokesman.

Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253

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