The Gainesville Police Department arrested a 24-year-old former caregiver Monday on two counts of elder abuse.
Daja Rutledge worked at Charter Senior Living, a retirement community located in southwest Gainesville at 1001 SW 62nd Blvd, near The Oaks Mall. Rutledge was terminated following the start of the investigation, said Cathy Hampton, the facility’s regional director of operations.
The victims were an 82-year-old woman and an 80-year-old woman, both looked after by Rutledge, according to a GPD press release.
One witness told police they saw Rutledge covering the 80-year-old victim’s mouth for screaming too loud in the facility’s shower room, according to the arrest report. Another witness told investigators Rutledge pinned another victim up against a wall, yelling at them in the process.
Hampton said she was grateful to her staff for identifying the abuse and hopes to prevent further attacks. Hampton’s never seen anything similar happen at the facility, she said.
“All of the correct steps were followed,” Hampton said. “We are very glad this process worked.”
Contact Zachary Curtin at zcurtin@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @zachary_curtin.
Zach is a freshman sports journalism major and a sports reporter for the Alligator. When he is not covering UF sports he is often being disappointed by Philadelphia sports teams.
