A woman who cared for disabled men was arrested and charged with multiple counts of abuse of a disabled person.
The woman, who was driving a van in which two wheelchair-bound men were being transported, stopped at a local K-Mart and left the two men inside of the sweltering van. A police officer, driving through the parking lot, noticed the two men inside of the van and opened the door. The men apparently suffered from disabilities that prevented them from using their hands to open doors or windows.
Fire Rescue examined the two men and determined that both were unharmed.
Florida law makes it a third-degree felony to “knowingly or willfully abuse an elderly person or disabled adult without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement...” Florida Statute sec. 825.102.
Aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled person requires proof of willful torture, malicious punishment, willful confinement, or knowingly and willfully causing permanent injury or disfigurement is a second-degree felony.
The woman in this instance is being charged with the third-degree felony.
Eric Matheny is a Miami criminal lawyer and Broward criminal lawyer assisting clients with abuse of elderly and/or disabled person(s) charges.