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Elder abuse may net prison for Craig
by Amanda C. Gregg - THE GARDEN ISLAND
The man accused of running an illegal home care facility and physically abusing an 83-year-old man suffering from dementia, high blood pressure and Parkinson’s disease faces up to six years in prison and $12,000 in fines.
Riyoji Hirokawa passed away July 27, 2005, due to neglect while staying at the home of Jason Craig, 42, of Kalaheo.
Craig’s sentencing was continued to 9 a.m., April 17, according to court documents returned Monday from court chambers.
Court documents state that while under Craig’s care, Hirokawa suffered a heart attack, was severely dehydrated, malnourished and weighed 88 pounds.
Prosecutors said Craig also failed to give Hirokawa his medications and canceled his doctor appointments. When Hirokawa was finally seen by a doctor on March 28, 2005, doctors found a tennis-ball sized ulcer, the result of a bed sore.
Hirokawa was released three weeks later after surgery for the ulcer; he was then transferred to a nursing home, where he died.
According to court documents, Hirokawa’s wife, who placed him with Craig because she could no longer pick up her husband who kept falling down, paid $4,000 a month for treatment.
Court documents also state Craig had reassured Hirokawa’s concerned wife several times that her husband was being taken care of, though he was slowly dying.
Hirokawa’s wife paid Craig $4,000 a month from December 2003 through the end of his stay, March 28, 2005, when he was taken to the hospital.
Fifth Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano found Craig guilty of second-degree assault by omission, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a maximum $10,000 fine, and operating a care home or hospice without a license, a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
• Amanda C. Gregg, assistant editor/staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or agregg@kauaipubco.com
Riyoji Hirokawa passed away July 27, 2005, due to neglect while staying at the home of Jason Craig, 42, of Kalaheo.
Craig’s sentencing was continued to 9 a.m., April 17, according to court documents returned Monday from court chambers.
Court documents state that while under Craig’s care, Hirokawa suffered a heart attack, was severely dehydrated, malnourished and weighed 88 pounds.
Prosecutors said Craig also failed to give Hirokawa his medications and canceled his doctor appointments. When Hirokawa was finally seen by a doctor on March 28, 2005, doctors found a tennis-ball sized ulcer, the result of a bed sore.
Hirokawa was released three weeks later after surgery for the ulcer; he was then transferred to a nursing home, where he died.
According to court documents, Hirokawa’s wife, who placed him with Craig because she could no longer pick up her husband who kept falling down, paid $4,000 a month for treatment.
Court documents also state Craig had reassured Hirokawa’s concerned wife several times that her husband was being taken care of, though he was slowly dying.
Hirokawa’s wife paid Craig $4,000 a month from December 2003 through the end of his stay, March 28, 2005, when he was taken to the hospital.
Fifth Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano found Craig guilty of second-degree assault by omission, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a maximum $10,000 fine, and operating a care home or hospice without a license, a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
• Amanda C. Gregg, assistant editor/staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or agregg@kauaipubco.com
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puput wrote on Apr 3, 2009 10:19 AM: