Breaking News for Culpeper and Warrenton Accident Victims

Bristol nursing home hid cases of elder sexual abuse

Posted on Mar 31, 2010

A nursing home in Bristol, Virginia (National Health Care-Bristol) allegedly ignored and discouraged reports of elder sexual abuse, and supervisors at the facility now face charges from the Virginia medical licensing board.

The individuals named in documents by the Virginia medical licensing board are the nursing home administrator Charlotte Wilson, nursing supervisor Helen Roberts, and former nursing supervisor Elizabeth Anne Franklin.

Wilson faces the worst charges of the three individuals, as she allegedly set up a report chain for abuse cases that intentionally went nowhere. She is accused of failing to report cases of sexual abuse involving 12 residents. The cases spanned the years 2000 to 2008. Wilson is also accused of failing to notify the patients’ doctors or Adult Protective Services of the reports of sexual abuse, which is required by law.

Franklin’s lawyer has denied the charges against her, claiming that Franklin referred all elder abuse complaints that she received for investigation. Franklin and Roberts are both accused of discouraging a family member from filing a complaint, and failing to report elder sexual abuse cases.

A former nursing aid from the facility, James Wright, is awaiting sentencing on four charges of aggravated sexual battery. If convicted of the charges, Wright could face up to 20 years in jail for each charge against him.