36 Trial Lawyer • Winter 2023 By Megan Johnson OTLA Guardian Bob lived alone with his 70-year-old mother, who suffered from dementia as well as a myriad of other health problems that left her dependent on him for her physical care. Bob worked hard at construction jobs and relied upon various friends to stay with his mom in informal caregiving situations during his shifts. When someone he had worked with on and off for years needed a place to stay for a nine-month job, Bob jumped at the chance for a renter in the home and an extra set of eyes out for his mother. His mother was 84, significantly overweight and spent her days in dressing gowns and slippers. Her hygiene was sufficient but basic, and she didn’t receive haircuts or other forms of selfcare. Bob’s roommate began sexually abusing her within three months of moving in. He would join her on the sofa, groom her by feigning interest in her and her TV shows, and then touch and fondle her genitals and breasts while he talked to her. Bob’s mother did not disclose the abuse, and the roommate was caught because he bragged about it in a joking way on the construction job. A coworker overheard him and told Bob what he had heard. Bob’s mother, when asked, admitted he had been touching her. Understanding power and control It's my experience, in almost two decades with juries on this very issue, that the hardest part of this case is convincing ordinary citizens that something like this actually happens. Simply put, our society is conditioned to accept that Bob’s mother “got this wrong” due to her dementia, and the roommate was “just joking at the job site” rather than b e l i e v e t h a t a 40-year -old man touched the genitals of a cognitively impaired 70-year-old woman in a housedress with only the most basic of hygiene. Jury selection is indeed important — to discuss the concept biases and equate sexual abuse with power and control rather than attraction. But jury selection alone is not enough. Our juries will say, when asked, they agree that sexual abuse is about power and control, not attraction. They will say, when asked, they understand that elderly and disabled people are victims of sexual abuse. But, their verdicts demonstrate that when it’s time to say the abuse actually did happen, they falter. Think of it like this. Jurors will acknowledge that sexual abuse of an elder person with dementia can happen. But when it is put directly in front of the jurors, they will take any other reasonable explanation for what happened. The first barrier to accountability lies Megan Johnson sexual abuse and dementia: the barriers that lie within us Jurors will acknowledge that sexual abuse of an elder person with dementia can happen. But when it is put directly in front of the jurors, they will take any other reasonable explanation for what happened.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==