The Canadian Press
Footage of an elderly man claiming abuse by a nursing home manager before he passed away was not enough evidence to convict the worker, Canada's top court ruled Thursday.
In a 7-0 judgment, the Supreme Court acquitted Ramnarine Khelawon on charges of aggravated assault and uttering threats against people in his care at Toronto's Bloor West Village retirement home.
Since all the residents accusing Khelawon had passed away before the trial could even begin, the only evidence against him hinged on one elderly man's video statement. But because the retirement home resident was no longer alive, the high court ruled there were doubts about the reliability of the statement and no way Khelawon's lawyer could do a cross-examination.
In light of this, the court concluded there was no way Khelawon could have a fair trial.
The court suggested that different police procedures in gathering evidence could get around such problems in future cases.
Originally, five residents accused him of aggravated assault and uttering threats. The other four elderly residents had passed away before the trial even started and one had been judged mentally incompetent.
SOURCE: cbc.ca
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Though this is an older news item, we are reminded that elder abuse cases must be investigated and, perpetrator prosecuted, as soon as possible.
I suppose, one way of solving the Elder Abuse problem is just to "look the other way", till the main character(s) of the case passes away.
"One case down... Next!"
(I apologise for being cynical, but sometimes when elder abuse cases get "bogged down" in the court systems for years; we have to ask "What are they waiting for?)
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