Attorney describes elder abuse case as 'colossal failure of the system'
Two people who admitted they were responsible for five disabled men living in a dilapidated, insect-infested trailer without a working toilet or proper air conditioning as well as lacking access to food and medicine pleaded guilty Wednesday in exchange for 10 years' probated sentences.
David Fulcher, 55, and Gaynell M. Hymel, 65, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to multiple counts of neglect and exploitation of elderly or disabled adults. Hymel also plead guilty to operating an unlicensed personal care home in May 2018.
The victims were either physically or mentally disabled, or both. Three had severe cases of scabies, and one had infected wounds on his arms and legs. He had been attacked by a dog. They were paying up to $1,000 a month to stay in the trailer on Mosley Road, said Assistant District Attorney William Hammond.
In May 2018, members of the Crimes Against Vulnerable and Elderly task force found the victims living in the deplorable conditions, Hammond said. More than three years later, after the indictment was returned, the victims have scattered or died. The one victim who was found was like a child who actually enjoyed the freedom of having no one to watch over him, Hammond said.
Hymel’s attorney Scott Connell told the judge that Hymel had operated a proper home, the Hymel Personal Care Home, for years without any unfavorable inspection reports, including one by the Veterans Administration shortly before the CAVE team received a complaint. Hymel began to slip mentally and physically and needed help, he said. She brought in Fulcher, but ultimately, she was responsible, although there was no intentional neglect or ill will, Connell said.
“This demonstrates the extremely sad and colossal failure of the system designed to watch over these (vulnerable adults),” Connell said. These were people who had no family or anyone else to take care of them, he said. Hymel was the last stop.
Fulcher’s attorney Jesse Owen agreed with the assessment.
“Overwhelmingly, one word comes to my mind when I reviewed this case: unfortunate.” This place was the last stop for many people who were extremely difficult to care for because of their mental and physical conditions, Owen said. “They (Fulcher and Hymel) were doing their best but unfortunately neither one of them had the necessary training.”
Judge Ashley Wright accepted the negotiated plea and sentence of 10 years’ probation with a $5,000 fine and $60 in restitution. The restitution was for one of the victim's belongings that were never returned to him. Wright added an additional condition for probation for each: no serving as a caregiver in any respect for a vulnerable adult.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Two get probation for neglecting and exploiting vulnerable adults
