A former Mobile-based caseworker with the Alabama Department of Human Resources pleaded guilty this month to abusing and neglecting her elderly, mentally disabled brother, according to Mobile County court records.
The woman, now 43, entered what is known as a blind plea to one count of elder abuse and neglect on the same day a jury pool had gathered for her scheduled trial. A blind plea means she pleaded guilty without a sentencing agreement in place, leaving punishment up to the judge. She could face as much as 20 years in prison.
Mobile County sheriff’s deputies arrested the woman in May 2013 after her brother, then 74 years old, was discovered malnourished and covered in bed sores while lying in his own waste. The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office said his condition was so severe that some of the bedsores required skin grafts to treat.
The brother, who requires round-the-clock care because of a mental disability, had been under his sister’s care at the time deputies found him. A sheriff’s office lieutenant involved in the case said at the time that he believed deputies may have saved the man’s life by intervening when they did.
Court records show the woman had worked for the Alabama Department of Human Resources since 2003, spending much of her career helping children navigate the foster care system. She resigned from the agency a few months after her arrest, according to a DHR spokesperson.
Following her guilty plea, the woman was scheduled to appear before a Mobile County Circuit Court judge in March for sentencing.
Elder abuse and neglect cases involving family caregivers remain a persistent challenge for Mobile County law enforcement, who have said that vulnerable adults living with relatives can sometimes go without protective oversight for years. Advocates for the elderly and disabled have pushed for more consistent welfare checks in cases where a family member serves as the primary caregiver, particularly when that caregiver has no outside support or supervision.
Investigators in the case credited a tip that prompted the initial welfare check, which led deputies to the home where the brother was found. The case drew local attention in part because of the defendant’s professional background working in social services for the state.