Caretaker Charged After Elderly Man Complains of “Being Thrown Around Like a Rag Doll”

A Berkshires caretaker has been charged with elder abuse after an 84-year-old man told hospital staff that his two broken ribs were caused by being “thrown around like a rag doll.” The 52-year-old man, Anthony Marcella II, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on charges of assault and battery on a person over 60 or disabled, witness intimidation, caretaker abuse of an elder, and caretaker abuse of an elder causing serious bodily harm. Marcella has pleaded not-guilty to all charges and was released on a bail.

On May 22 or 23, Marcella was allegedly “rough” when picking up the elderly victim (whose name is not provided) after he fell down. According to court documents, Marcella squeezed him in an aggressive manner and proceeded to throw him around “like a rag doll.” The elderly victim suffered two broken ribs as a result of his caretaker’s abusive treatment.

This is not Marcella’s first run-in with the law. In 2013, Marcella was convicted on charges of malicious destruction of property over $250 after he spent an entire year sporadically spray-painting and otherwise terrorizing his ex-girlfriend with cryptic messages throughout a local state park. Marcella’s actions included: destroying a public restroom in the state park and covering it with graffiti, hanging a woman’s dress and underwear from a tree and then surrounding the tree with ripped pages from a book about HIV, and spray-painting “U R Dead” (among other, more profane  messages) on rocks and trees. For these crimes, Marcella was sentenced to seven months in prison.

Elder abuse is unfortunately common and frequently underreported. Elder abuse is not just physical violence, but also encompasses verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, approximately ten percent of senior citizens are the victims of elder abuse.

Marcella is due back in court on August 7 for a pretrial hearing.

Source:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/berkshires_caretaker_accused_o.html