A terrible case has emerged from Albert Lea, Minnesota where two of the former Good Samaritan Society employees — 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson — have been criminally charged with the abuse of elderly patients in a nursing home. A total of eight juveniles were allegedly involved and four have been charged with failing to report the abuse. The case may trigger civil litigation against both the nursing home and potentially the Good Samaritan Society itself.
Six assistants at the nursing home are accused of poking, taunting and groping patients.
The criminal complaint charges that the teens spat in residents’ mouths, poked and groped their breasts and genitals and at times taunted them until they screamed. They allegedly laughed at such abuse. Four juveniles are charged with 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. Some of these patients have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia disorders.
The two defendants have been charged 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. Since they are all misdemeanors, it is unlikely that they will be sent to jail.
Mark Anderson, administrator at the Good Samaritan Society in Albert Lea, stated “[w]e are just really thankful that the proceedings are moving forward and hopefully can see some closure to this whole process,” Anderson said.
Closure may take a while. There remains the question of why no adult at the facility or the society noticed the abuse. There is also the question of negligence in the selection, training, and supervision of such assistants. Obviously, if these allegations are true, these are very troubled teens, but the large number of teens involved raises a broader potential for liability.
In this case abuse of the old was just abuse of the weak. The girls are abusers. I don’t know how they got that way but it needs to be dealt with very emphatically.
it is not good to abuse old people at all
I work at a Good Sam and because of the poor choices that these girls have made we are all, every state and branch, are suffering and having to pay for their actions. I think the girls deserve what they got and I hope that nothing like this never happens again.
I have worked in a nursing home setting for 30 years, and was absolutely appalled by these girls behaviors towards the residents in that facility. They forgot(or were not taught) the golden rule: love one another. It also seems they were not taught respect for your fellow human being.
Bob,
Nah…Flanders is constantly praying for Homer, (When he isn’t wishing he could kill him) so no matter, Flanders’ god is stonger, even than Homer’s tiki!
Jill: “I don’t know if you hold the belief that people are intrinsically evil.”
I am evil Homer
I am evil Homer…
I completely agree, Patty C!!
Oh Lord, Jill. Give it a rest!
Stop looking for explanations where none exist, or for whatever happened to you, in other people’s behavior. It’s maddening!
YOU are screwed up! Work on that…
These girls are most likely NOT victims of sexual abuse OR violence
– just poor upbringing by young, uneducated, frustrated, and ultimately ‘single’ parents, most likely…
They simply don’t know any better.
Did I mention that I think “The Stocks” should be reinstated as punishment in certain cases; such as this one?
Jill,
I agree that we should investigate all aspects of these despicable acts. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the acts were filmed and show up on You Tube at some point. I was brought up to respect and honor the elderly and to read about this kind of abuse is sad. Jill may be right that something or someone has turned these young people to the dark side. I hope they can get some help to give them a chance to be good adults in the future.
2L,MN,
Looking for an explanation may well turn up adults who abused these girls. I would like to know if this happened because if it did, these adults need to be held accountable for abusing these girls. Looking for an explanation in no way takes away responsibility for their actions. They will be tried as adults, just as anyone else their age would be.
I don’t know if you hold the belief that people are intrinsically evil. I don’t. I think it takes a whole lot of work to get people to act sadistcally. It’s important for our society to understand this, if we hope to stop cruelty in the long run. I think you are confusing my motives. The justice system will decide their punishment. My aims are not going to interfere with that punishment. If you aren’t allowed to look honestly at what happened and why, you will not stop the abuse.
To repete, I do not justify the abuse of the elderly. I agree with you that this is a common occurance in nursing homes which are not properly staffed. I’m having a difficult time understanding why it would be wrong to see if these girls were abused. That is a totally separate issue from what happens to them in the criminal justice system.
Jill: Our justice system already excuses criminal activity at a young age and attempts to allow for some correction through the juvenile system. The two girls mentioned were both over the age of 18. I don’t hold the idealistic view that only those that have been abused are capable of such acts, everyone is capable if given the opportunity and without the proper morals. They’re past the age where we allow for correction of behavior or leniency. By 18 you’re supposed to know between right and wrong. Looking for an “explanation” is, in my opinion, taking away their responsibility for their actions. If you don’t know that you’re not supposed to mock, torture, and sexually assault the elderly person that you’re taking care of by the ages of 18 and 19, then there’s not much hope that your behavior can be shaped in the future. As for the other juveniles involved, they might see more leniency but again, the acts committed were not in any “grey area” between right and wrong, they were cold blooded abuses of a vulnerable adult. A 5 year old could tell you it was wrong.
2L, MN,
I don’t think you read my posts. I reiterated in each that I was not excusing the behavior. I said nothing about what type of charges they should be facing. If a male rapist was the same age as these girls, or had these been boys of any color instead of girls, I would ask the same questions. I agree with you that most people who are violent were originally vitims of violence, although it isn’t true that most victime of violence will become violent. It’s why I try to work against violence in general and that directed at children in particular.
My point is, these people are rather young to engage in this type of sadistic behavior. I would like to know if something happened to them. I do think young people are less culpable than adults. Once you are older, you often have the opportunity to chose a different path.
I don’t think people should be beat up in nursing homes, or anywhere else. I am as repulsed by this behavior as you are.
p.s., We kicked Albert Lea’s ass in hockey when we played them in highschool!
They’re already getting a break. These same acts could have easily been charged as felonies. Lucky for them they’re cute white girls.
I guess we can stop promoting “Minnesota nice” for awhile…
I think this case will be the first in many to start forcing the healthcare industry, especially nursing homes, to look at how well they screen and supervise their staff. I worked in the healthcare industry before going to law school, and I can tell you first hand how little they actually supervise staff during their duties, and how many “bumps and bruises” go unreported. These teens took advantage of the most vulnerable of people, I don’t care what their past history is it is inexcusable. Elder abuse in our nursing homes is an epidemic without a voice, but with the vast number of citizens moving into these homes I hope this changes soon. If these teens did poke and prod the victim’s genitals, why is CSC not one of the potential charges? That can lead to the jail time these people deserve.
Jill: While you may be correct that these teens may have been abused, your analysis should go both ways. Many male rapists were abused as children and we throw the book at them, even change the rules of evidence to ensure their punishment. When you read a news story of a male rapist are you as quick to try and find an “explanation”? I think a more likely answer is a group mentality with a vulnerable victim, much like young kids who pick on animals.
Rich,
Abuse victims can and do reenact their abuse taking on the role of abuser as well as victim. Both are common. One thing I would look for in this case is if these girls were forced to watch pornography. One in three girls is a victim of sex abuse in this society. I say these things, not to excuse the horrific action, but to look for a very possible explanation.
Sugar N’ Spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of…
As a kid born in the South in the 1940s, I was always taught to treat women with the greatest respect, which I did and still try to do with the ingrained and obligatory Yes Ma’am, opening doors, and I once had an overwhelming above-and-beyond admiration for women as the kinder and better of the genders.
I still hold many women in high regard and with the utmost esteem; however, I have learned that, such as in this case, some women and–most troubling—girls, are treacherous, cruel, and downright evil. Sure, in high school I realized that ‘girls’ could be catty and pull pranks, but in the 1960s those appeared as mostly innocent acts. In college, well, I learned that girls were women.
Is this my imagination or does it seem that girls are growing up too fast and experiencing the adult aspects of life at too early an age when such experiences can actually cause actual damage their Sugar N’ Spice and everything nice physical, emotional, and psychological make-up? On the other hand, have the old adages and the refrains of Sugar N’ Spice always been just imaginary and false traits we gave to the ‘fairer sex’?
As a ‘rambunctious’ guy, “snaps and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of” was likely a bit too kind a description of me, although I was a good kid; mostly!
I am pleased that women have gained the majority of the rights men have and I look forward to the day I can vote for a qualified woman, of any political party, for POTUS. However, women appear to have also caught up with men in displaying the worst human traits that men have exhibited.
Yes, perhaps I am an old dinosaur, but I long for the day to have the same admiration and respect for most women that I ‘grew up with’, although I am finding myself learning that my vision of women was more fanciful and naïve than that of an actual concept founded in reality.
As a father, who has a son but who sometimes regrets not having a daughter, I look at the photo of those pretty, ‘normal’ looking, young, girl-next-door stereotypes and wonder if society–through cultural evolution–is largely responsible or if human nature is ever so slowly evolving to allow such flawed psychological traits; the old nature v. nurture debate.
Surely, the human psyche is the sum product of both forces. However, the impetus leading these girls to do what they did is especially troubling to a older man who always listened to neat lyrical songs like ‘The Men In My Little Girl’s Life’ and thought; yes, that is what young girls really want out life…
This seems like a fairly atypical response to abuse, which tends to be more a matter of enacting a victim role.
This is not an excuse but given the hate-filled use of sexual acts to inflict pain I have to wonder if these girls were repeting behavior that was inflicted on them. It is so striking that they chose classic sex abuse techniques and perhaps significant that they employeed them against people who were older. I certainly would like to know if these girls were themselves victims of sexualized violence by adult relatives.