Teens face charges in abuse of patients
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse for allegedly taunting, groping and spitting on residents who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
Brianna Broitzman, 19, and Ashton Larson, 18, laughed earlier this year as they spat in residents’ mouths, poked and groped their breasts and genitals, and at times mocked them until they screamed, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
Broitzman and Larson, who worked as part-time aides at the home, have been charged as adults.
Larson’s father disputed the charges against his daughter in a statement read Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show.
“Not all of the charges are as they appear. Much of this has been distorted by the news media,” Michael Larson said.
Four other teens who worked with the two suspects at the Good Samaritan Society were charged as juveniles for failing to report the incidents.
A total of eight teens were allegedly involved in the incidents, but there was no record of criminal charges being filed against two of them.
Broitzman and Larson are charged with 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.
If found guilty, Broitzman and Larson “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,” Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Department of Health released a report in August showing that 15 residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia disorders were abused at the facility between Jan. 1 and May 1.
According to the complaint filed Monday, one of the aides said the group gathered at work or school to “talk and laugh about the incidents.”
Mark Anderson, administrator at the Good Samaritan Society, said that recent months have been hard for the staff, the residents and their families.
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