Elderly abuse on the rise

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

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Carolyn Smith could be spending the rest of her life behind bars.

A judge sentenced her to 20 years for a crime detectives said is on the rise in Citrus County -- elderly abuse and exploitation.

"This type of crime is really no different than child abuse," David Fields of the major crimes division said. "Abuse of the elderly, taking advantage of somebody that has basically lost the ability to protect themselves."

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office said more cases are piling up every year against those who are taking advantage of the elderly.

In Smith's case, she became her 92-year-old victim's full-time caregiver. Smith, 63, then neglected the woman who developed bed sores so severe doctors had to cut off one of her legs.

All the while investigators said Smith wrote more than $600,000 worth of checks from the victim's bank account.

"A lot of times I think it takes its course as a friendship and then spirals

Fields equates abuse of the elderly to child abuse.

out of control when they see how easy it is to get the money," Fields said.

Detectives called on the public Tuesday to be more aware of the elderly around them and not be afraid to take action.

The detectives also said this crime isn't being taken lightly in the courts. In Citrus County, first-time elderly exploitation offenders have gotten longer sentences than some convicted murderers.

Smith's sentence comes a little more than a year after Judge Richard Howard handed down a prison term of 30 years to a man accused of bilking an elderly Floral City couple out of their life savings.