This will make you mad

[Guest guest]

(Sorry for all caps in advance)

YOU MURDER TWO INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO BE DISABLED AND YOU GET THREE YEARS IN PRISON? Three? Are you kidding? These two women, who had no voice, DIED because they were neglected. I think someone who kills innocent animals gets more than that! I am so mad I could just spit!!!

New Jersey care workers who neglected three disabled adults sentenced to three years in prison

Published: Thursday, February 02, 2012, 6:43 PM Updated: Thursday, February 02, 2012, 10:13 PMTwo care workers who admitted to neglecting three mentally disabled adults while being responsible for their care were sentenced today to three years in New Jersey state prison, Hunterdon County Prosecutor P. Kearns III announced. Relatives of the victims expressed at the sentencing the sorrow, outrage and horror they felt about the treatment their loved ones were forced to endure, according to victim-impact statements released by Kearns.Debra Sloan, 57, of andria Township, and New Jersey Department of Human Services caseworker Bridget Grimes, 54, of burg, were sentenced this morning in state Superior Court in Flemington by state Superior Court Judge Pursel. The women were accused of abusing and neglecting Tara O’Leary, Germaine and Lydia Joy between 2002 and 2008 while the three women were being cared for at Sloan's andria Township home. O’Leary died two months after being removed from the home, and died in 2009 of an intestinal ailment after being transferred to a new facility. Neither Sloan nor Grimes were charged in the women's deaths.

“It really is a no-win situation. No one wins here,†said O’Leary’s cousin, Maureen Faletti, in a statement read during the sentencing. “What you are about to endure I’m sure is not going to be pleasant, but you will be able to complain about it and someone will listen. Tara, Joy and didn’t have the opportunity to do this.â€

Grimes pleaded guilty to three counts of official misconduct, three counts of neglect of a disabled person and two counts of theft. Sloan pleaded guilty to three counts of neglect of a disabled person and two counts of theft.In addition to her three-year prison sentence, Grimes is prohibited from ever holding a public office, position or employment in New Jersey. Authorities said all three victims in the case suffered from malnourishment and other neglect-related injuries. O’Leary’s weight had fallen to 48 pounds by the time she was removed from the home, according to court records.A 2009 indictment for Sloan and Grimes detailed how the victims were confined to their beds and denied medical treatment. The indictment said was often forced to care for O’Leary.Kearns, the Hunterdon County prosecutor, said family members’ pain is unlikely to ever disappear.

“Justice is vigilant no matter who the victim is,†Kearns said in a statement. “But justice can only punish. It never wipes away the heartache of family members when a loved one is neglected or abused by those entrusted to care for them.â€

Attorney: Sloan held on to job too longSloan’s attorney, Abatemarco, said today his client was a law-abiding citizen for most of her life as well as a compassionate caretaker. A series of unfortunate events in Sloan’s life, including the death of her 6-year-old son in an all-terrain vehicle accident, caused her to lose control, Abatemarco said.

“Realistically she should have realized she couldn’t do this anymore, but she didn’t. That’s the tragedy,†Abatemarco said. “(Sloan) didn’t even take care of herself. She realizes now she should have said something.â€

Sloan, originally charged with assault offenses related to the victims’ conditions, was willing to plead guilty once those charges were tossed, Abatemarco said.

“She was willing to acknowledge what she did do wrong,†he said of her guilty plea.Abatemarco noted that Sloan was the lowest person in the hierarchy of workers in the state who provide care for the disabled.

“She’s the lowest person on the totem pole,†Abatemarco said. “There’s no doubt she should have realized what she was doing. But on that point, she was on her own. The only source of income she had was in being paid for by the state — she was trying to hold on.â€

A message left for Grimes’ attorney, Whittlesey, was not immediately returned late this afternoon.Abuse leaves lasting pain for familyEileen Devlin, another cousin of O’Leary who spoke in court, described the injuries on her cousin’s body after she was removed from the home.

“Tara's legs had urine burns on them so severe it looked as though she was wearing red socks,†Devlin said in her impact statement. “She had double diapers on her, duct-taped together. Her body was covered in bedsores. … Tara’s real caretaker in the house of horror, Lydia Joy, complained to her family that she could not sleep at night and she could not get up for her job due to Tara screaming all night long.â€Faletti explained in her statement that she, Devlin and other family members had to make the decision in 2008 to pull O’Leary off life support after her cousin suffered a stroke and additional medical complications.

“I can’t begin to explain what life was like during that time. It was so shocking and sad — to watch Tara get worse and worse and no one to really help, left us at a loss, a huge loss,†Faletti said. “To have to make that decision is something I will never ever get over.â€

Janet Fandel, ’s niece and legal guardian, told the judge that her 82-year-old mother is still overwhelmingly upset when she thinks about the abuse endured at the home.

“Most people treat their dogs better than (Sloan) treated my aunt,†Fandel said in her statement. “I have nightmares thinking about the kind of mental torture my aunt had to endure. "No family should have to endure the pain and suffering that we have had to because of someone failing to be responsible and do the job that they were hired to do.â€