Home Health Aide Convicted Of Abusing Elderly Patient
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A disturbing case of abuse was caught on camera in Brooklyn.
A home health aide has been convicted of brutalizing an 86-year-old woman who suffers from Alzheimer's, leaving her on the floor while she watched television, reports CBS 2's Cindy Hsu.
Home surveillance video set up by the victim's son helped convict 53-year-old Elizabeth Peters of abusing the elderly woman she was paid to care for.
The video shows the victim left on the floor after a fall for more than an hour as the caregiver ignored her.
"She was walking around, she was watching TV, she was changing the channel, going back and forth to the window, to the kitchen," Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Kim said.
The camera also caught Peters dragging the woman by her ankles across the floor.
"Beyond that, she pulled her two more times, by her arms, while she was still on the floor," Kim said. "She subjected her to a risk -- an unacceptable risk."
The victim's son had set the video camera up a year before the incident, and caught the images just two weeks after Peters started working for the family.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is hoping the conviction sends a strong message.
"There's going to be consequence," Hynes said. "We are not going to tolerate this kind of abuse."
The victim is currently being cared for in a nursing home. Peters will be sentenced in January, and she faces up to one year in jail.
The jury deliberated for less than two days before coming to a guilty verdict.
