'Abuse-for-thrills' case top 2008 news story in Albert Lea
January 3rd, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
The physical and sexual “abuse-for-thrills” case at Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Albert Lea, Minn., was listed as “far and away the leading news story in the Albert Lea area for 2008,” by the Albert Lea Tribune.
The story first broke in May with reports that investigators were looking into allegations of abuse at the nursing home. By August, the details began to be revealed. An employee at the nursing home told facility authorities that she was aware that other aides in the home were holding down residents, putting their fingers in residents’ mouths and noses to quiet their cries and screams for help, hitting and rubbing their breasts and genitals, and sexually “humping” some residents. She said the aides called the abuse “work fun or to get a good laugh.”
The laughter ended for those who engaged in the abuse when the story came to light. In total, six former certified nursing aides at Good Samaritan Society were arrested – two are charged as adults. The remaining four are charged as juveniles as they were younger than 18 at the time of the incidents. All six face gross misdemeanor charges in the alleged abuse of 15 cognitively impaired residents.
Details of the abuse radiated through the country, garnering attention from national media, including the “Today” show on NBC. The story also drew the attention of A Perfect Cause, a national watchdog group dedicated to ending “needless suffering and preventable deaths while protecting the rights of citizens from corporate greed and negligence.”.
“The story will continue to reverberate in 2009 as the wheels of the legal system move,” the news story continues.