A former Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) received a two year suspended jail sentence and three years probation for abusing a 91-year-old woman in Wilbraham. Below is a copy of the court’s probation order.
Rodette Robinson, 54, of Springfield, was indicted by a grand jury in Hampden County Superior Court for assault and battery on an elderly person (M.G.L. c. 265, § 13K (d ½). The indictment returned on September 8, 2022 and a copy is attached here.
According to the Commonwealth’s statement of the case,
In March or April 2021, Robinson was hired to provide HHA services in a private residence to an elder, known to the Commonwealth as M.C., a 91-year-old woman with diagnosis of vascular dementia, arthritis, osteoporosis and fractures in her vertebrae, bone on bone degeneration of the left shoulder and ambulates with supervision and walker…On November 19, 2021, after M.C. refused to go to the restroom, home surveillance video camera captured Robinson, the HHA, repeatedly shaking and tipping M.C.’s chair until she fell to the hard wood floor. The video continued to capture Robinson grabbing M.C. by her clothing and dragging her across the floor from the bedroom and into the bathroom. The dragging and repeated bumping of M.C.’s body on the floor and against the bathroom door jamb caused injury and significant bruising to the left side of M.C.’s body and exacerbated the degenerative condition of her left shoulder resulting in decreased range of motion.
Here is the statement of the case in its entirety:
After seeing the surveillance footage, the woman’s family contacted the attorney general’s office and the Medicaid fraud division initiated an investigation, ultimately leading to criminal charges against Robinson.
The AG’s press secretary released a statement yesterday stating
This defendant callously and violently assaulted an elder Alzheimer’s patient, and was caught on camera doing it…We will continue to investigate and prosecute these elder abuse cases because home health patients and their loved ones deserve to trust that caretakers will provide compassionate and excellent care.
The AG is currently supporting proposed legislation that would enhance the office’s “civil enforcement tools” when healing with elder abuse.
Law Office of Justin R. McCarthy 