A sentencing deal has been accepted for one of the individuals involved in a case of alleged abuse at Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Jada Leslie, 23, will serve three years of supervised probation and be prohibited from working in a dependent care facility under a sentence that was issued Tuesday by county Common Pleas Judge Christylee Peck.
Peck agreed to the sentencing recommended by the county district attorney’s office. Leslie pleaded guilty to an endangerment charge, while other charges against her, including simple assault, harassment and stalking, were dismissed.
Leslie, along with Leanne Wettrich, 33, was charged late last year as part of an investigation by Middlesex Township Police into abuse allegations at Claremont.
In a court affidavit, Detective Jeffrey Franks wrote that an informant at Claremont told police that they had witnessed Leslie and Wettrich, both of whom were nurse’s aides at the home, abusing residents and recording it on their cellphones.
The tipster described incidents where Leslie and Wettrich threw ice cubes at disabled residents, according to Franks’ affidavit. Franks wrote that Wettrich admitted to committing abusive acts with Leslie in late 2019, although Leslie maintained she did not participate.
Wettrich said she had recorded Leslie engaging in abuse that included throwing ice cubes, pulling the ears of a patient and removing a patient’s blanket, Franks wrote; the videos were allegedly shared via the Snapchat app for the amusement of Leslie and Wettrich, according to the affidavit.
A forensic analysis of Leslie’s phone uncovered files that included Leslie taking a “selfie” video with a resident who was clearly distressed as she was made to pose with Leslie, Franks wrote. Another file contained a video where a disabled resident was being mocked by a person behind the camera as the distressed resident struggled to ask for help, Franks wrote.
Leslie’s sentence also requires her to complete 50 hours of community service, an anger management program and to surrender her nurse’s aide license, according to the case docket.
Wettrich’s case is still being adjudicated. A pre-trial conference took place in June, according to the docket.
Claremont, the county-owned nursing home, is in the process of being transferred to Allaire Health Services, a private provider, after a sale agreement was signed in July.
