Sunnyvale Nursing Home Employee Accused Of Groping Patients
SUNNYVALE (BCN) - A 27-year-old worker at a Sunnyvale nursing home was arrested Thursday morning on elder abuse charges after he was allegedly seen groping a male patient's genitals and making crude comments, according to the state attorney general's office.
In January 2011, an elderly resident of Idylwood Care Center complained to a staff member that Certified Nursing Assistant Arnold Samson had been groping his genitals over the course of a few days, according to the attorney general's office.
While the two were having a conversation about the abuse, Samson allegedly came up and grabbed the elderly man's genitals and made a crude comment, according to the attorney general's office.
The staff member immediately reported the incident, prompting an investigation by the attorney general's bureau of Medi-Cal fraud and elder abuse.
During the investigation, two staff members were determined to have seen or known about the alleged harassment and were arrested Thursday for not reporting it.
San Jose resident Ryan Tan, 22, and Saratoga resident Ricardo Martinez, 50, were arrested and charged with failure to report abuse or neglect.
Tan allegedly told investigators he had seen Samson grab and pull the victim's genitals numerous times, including once when the victim was asleep, according to the attorney's general office.
Both men were booked at Santa Clara County Jail and held on $5,000 bail.
Samson was arrested at his home Thursday morning and charged with one count of crimes against elder or dependent adults and one count of battery against elder or dependent adults.
Samson, Tan and Martinez have been fired as a result of the investigation, Department of Justice Special Agent Larry Menard said.
Anyone with information about possible elder abuse at Idylwood Care Center is asked to contact Department of Justice Special Agent Kristin Mansfield at (925) 520-6408.
(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
