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Caretakers Accused Of Sexually Abusing Nursing Home Patients In 'Reprehensible' Case
Ashley Johnston, 32, and Anna Scroggins, 26, were indicted this week and have since been fired from the Marshall Manor Nursing And Rehabilitation Center in Alabama.
Two Alabama caretakers are accused of sexually abusing a number of elderly patients at a nursing home.
Ashley Johnston, 32, and Anna Scroggins, 26, were indicted this week and accused of sexually abusing at least five residents in their care at Marshall Manor Nursing And Rehabilitation Center in the small Alabama city of Guntersville. They were arrested on Monday.
Johnston faces two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of elder abuse, three counts of public lewdness, as well as harassment and indecent exposure charges, online jail records show.
Scroggins was also booked for first-degree sexual abuse. She’s also accused of five counts of voyeurism, public lewdness, and elder abuse, according to jail records.
“These incidents occurred while both Johnston and Scroggins were employed by the nursing home and engaged in their duties as certified nursing assistants to render care to these residents,” Marshall County District Attorney Office chief investigator John Young said in a statement, according to the Sand Mountain Reporter.
Authorities aren’t releasing the names of the victims in order to protect their privacy, the statement added.
“Stuff like that happens, unfortunately,” Guntersville Police Chief Jim Peterson told Oxygen.com. “We had a lot of cooperation on it and as bad as it was, we were able to make a case fairly easily.”
Law enforcement declined to comment further on the case.
The two Alabama women have since been fired from the Guntersville care home, which is located about 75 miles northeast of Birmingham, where the alleged abuse unfolded.
“We were shocked and extremely concerned when we received allegations about the reprehensible misconduct of two of our employees,” Linda Robertson, an administrator at Marshall Manor Nursing And Rehabilitation Center, said in a statement sent to Oxygen.com. “We immediately responded to the situation by reporting the matter to all appropriate law enforcement agencies, terminating the employees, and contacting the families of the involved residents.”
The nursing home also stated it was cooperating with police and prosecutors to ensure Johnston and Scroggins “are brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We love and care about all of our residents,” the statement added. “We are very upset and sorry about this entire situation. We do not and will not tolerate mistreatment of any residents at Marshall Manor.”
It’s unclear how long the two caretakers had been employed by the Guntersville nursing home. Officials for the care home facility declined to comment further on the case on Wednesday.
Johnston and Scroggins’ bonds were set at $70,000 each. They both appear to have since been released, online jail records show. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers who could comment on their behalf.
