A Case of Elder Abuse: Victim didn’t live long enough to see justice
By Debra Tash
Last February Keagon Sims was arrested for first degree residential burglary and elder abuse. He had posed as a carpet cleaner and advertised his services on Facebook. From the original press release: “Between 9:00 PM on February 26, 2015 and 7:30 AM on February 27, 2015, a suspect(s) entered the residence, located in the 1800 block of Onda Drive, in Camarillo, and stole several guns from a gun cabinet and a flat screen television. The elderly victim was sleeping in a bedroom during the commission of the crime. The suspect(s) closed the victim’s bedroom door during the commission of the crime.”
What is especially poignant about this incident is that Sims’ victim, who was 77 years old at the time of the burglary and suffering with prostate and pancreatic cancer, passed away earlier this month. On October 22nd Sims, who pleaded guilty, will be sentenced as confirmed by the District Attorney’s office. At this time we do not have the exact charges. And even though this case moved relatively quickly, Ivan Godfrey, Sims’ victim, didn’t live long enough to see justice.
One aspect of this was what Sims had been originally arrested for along with the accusation of first degree residential burglary.
Elder abuse is a growing crime per the National Department Health and Human Services site: National Center for Elder Abuse – Administration on Aging. The abuse can be a result of phone scams, or from incidents like Mr. Sims with strangers who attempt to take advantage of someone of diminished capacity. In this case, Godfrey was able to aid police in locating Sims. Again from the original press release: “When Sims arrived at the residence to clean the carpet, the victim was skeptical he was a professional carpet cleaner, due to the fact his equipment appeared to be rented from a grocery store.”
There is another, more difficult kind of elder abuse. Ms. Julia Snyder, the prosecutor on the Sims case, said in a telephone interview with Citizens Journal, that what is particularly troubling is when adult children take advantage of their elderly relatives. This could be a child or grandchild who is unemployed, has substance abuse or mental health issues.
From the National Center for Elder Abuse website: “In the United States, the 2010 Census recorded the greatest number and proportion of people age 65 and older in all of decennial census history: 40.3 million, or 13% of the total population. This ‘Boomer Generation’ effect will continue for decades.1″ This makes for an ever larger segment of our population who may become vulnerable to elder abuse in the near future.
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Debra Tash is Editor-in-Chief of Citizensjournal.us, past president for Citizens Alliance for Property Rights, business executive and award-winning author, residing in Somis.
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