Andover nursing home health aide acquitted of assault
Friday, March 31st, 2006.
Newton, MA — An emotional Union County man was found not guilty Thursday of assaulting an elderly patient at an Andover Township nursing home more than two years ago.
Donald Beckett, 41, of Union Township, would have faced up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine had he been convicted of fourth-degree aggravated assault. But after a two-day trial, the eight-man, four-woman jury took barely a half-hour to acquit him.
It was a case with no physical evidence — a result of the 10-month delay between the alleged incident in October 2003 and an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office. That office has jurisdiction in cases involving elder abuse at state-funded institutions.
“That, unfortunately, is how the system works,” Deputy Attorney General Yvette Gibbons said of the delayed investigation in her closing argument.
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