Two Men Charged With Physical Abuse in Group Home Acquitted
Two men arrested and charged with assault and several other charges in 2009 have been acquitted of those charges after a judge ruled that the case against the two men was weak. The men were both arrested in June of 2009 after police investigated several complaints from other staff members at the group home where they were employed.
The men were in charge of assisting residents at the group home with their daily activities. Both men were fired after an accusation of excessive force was brought against them. The patients in their care were autistic adults, according to the Ottawa Citizen report.
If the charges that were brought against the two men stemmed solely on testimony from other employees at the group home, then the judge’s reasoning for dismissing the charges is accurate. In order for the charges against the two men to stay, the prosecution would need to bring more substantial evidence against the two men proving that they abused the elderly victims. If the employees’ accusations against the two men were true, then it is extremely unfortunate that the two men will get away with abusing adults that could not defend themselves by any means. Nobody should ever suffer abuse of any kind, especially if the victims involved already suffer from debilitating conditions as the victims in this incident did. The victims reportedly required ‘round-the-clock care 24-hours a day. Therefore, it is clear that there was no way for the victims to possibly defend themselves.
