The Indiana Adult Protective Services received nearly 40,000 reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults last year. Of those reports, unit two which encompasses Kosciusko, St. Joseph, Marshall and Elkhart counties, received over 5,000 calls.
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According to APS, approximately 90 percent of abusers of the elderly are family members. However, St. Joseph County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Kenneth Cotter, says anyone can be an abuser "It could be a relative, a stranger, or it could be themselves."
Cotter says most of the cases APS handles are self-neglect, "Over half the calls APS receives are for that specific reason. Usually they are just not able to take care of themselves anymore." In 2013, APS opened 542, self-neglect cases.
The Prosecuting Attorney's Office does not work with self-neglect cases, Cotter says APS or the victims family can work on stopping the abuse. He says they see a lot of financial exploitation cases, APS opened 257 cases last year.
"Quite frankly, it's easier," Cotter says. "It doesn't leave marks and the person may very well have been competent for so many years and then as they have gotten more elderly... the competency has kind of gone away a little bit."
Cotter says he prosecuted a man a few years ago for committing home improvement fraud on an elderly woman. The man was able to steal half a million dollars from this woman before her son called the police.
The penalty for financially exploiting someone for more than $10,000 or anyone over the age of 60-years-old is a class 6 felony and the abuser can face anywhere from six months to two and a half years in prison.
Full Article and Source:
Preventing Elder Abuse: Getting Back to the Golden Rule![]()
Cotter says most of the cases APS handles are self-neglect, "Over half the calls APS receives are for that specific reason. Usually they are just not able to take care of themselves anymore." In 2013, APS opened 542, self-neglect cases.
The Prosecuting Attorney's Office does not work with self-neglect cases, Cotter says APS or the victims family can work on stopping the abuse. He says they see a lot of financial exploitation cases, APS opened 257 cases last year.
"Quite frankly, it's easier," Cotter says. "It doesn't leave marks and the person may very well have been competent for so many years and then as they have gotten more elderly... the competency has kind of gone away a little bit."
Cotter says he prosecuted a man a few years ago for committing home improvement fraud on an elderly woman. The man was able to steal half a million dollars from this woman before her son called the police.
The penalty for financially exploiting someone for more than $10,000 or anyone over the age of 60-years-old is a class 6 felony and the abuser can face anywhere from six months to two and a half years in prison.
Full Article and Source:
Preventing Elder Abuse: Getting Back to the Golden Rule