District attorneys: New law could make prosecuting elder abuse cases easier

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. - Sullivan County assistant district attorneys believe that a new state law may help them more successfully prosecute a high number of vulnerable and elderly adult abuse cases in the county.

Assistant District Attorneys Amy Hinkle and Peter "Mike" Filetti believe the Elderly and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act will give prosecutors more options to look into cases of suspected financial exploitation of vulnerable and elderly adults, and to give victims an alternative way to participate in case proceedings. It takes effect on July 1.

Vulnerable adults are defined under the law as anyone over the age of 18 who because of a mental or physical disability cannot manage their resources, perform daily tasks or protect themselves from abusive situations. The age that an adult is considered elderly was changed under the act from 65 to 70.

The act goes hand in hand with the state's multi-disciplinary vulnerable adult protective investigative teams, or VAPITs. Every county in Tennessee was required by law to create a team by Jan. 1. The goal of the law is to provide more outreach and awareness, better trained officers to detect vulnerable adult abuse, and more resources to help victims.

Hinkle and Filetti spearheaded Sullivan County's VAPIT.

Sullivan County has received 243 referrals from the state's Adult Protective Services since then for the team to review; 232 have been reviewed by VAPIT. The rest are either still being investigated or charges are being sought. Hinkle attributed the high number of referrals to the county's aging population.

Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus previously said that exploitation of vulnerable adults is on the rise in the county, especially of the elderly. The population of adults who are 65 years old or older is also increasing, meaning there are more people to take advantage of, he said.

Financial exploitation is redefined in the law as the use of deception, intimidation, undue influence, force or threat of force to gain control of property. It's enough to give prosecutors grounds to look into the financial records of a vulnerable adult.

"Before it was more of if they misused the funds," said Hinkle. "That's a very broad spectrum, whereas now I feel like it's a lot more specific and it gives us more to go after someone. ... It just kind of gives it a little bit more backbone."

The act also clarifies that powers of attorney cannot use elderly or vulnerable adults' money for whatever they like; it has to be used for the owner. It allows prosecutors to investigate any transfers of property in excess of $1,000 within a 12-month period to a person who isn't a relative of the vulnerable adult and has known the person for less than two years.

"We do have a lot of people who complain of non-family members, mainly, coming in, befriending an elderly or vulnerable adult and before you know it, they have signed over all their property to that person," said Hinkle. "It's actually happened a lot more than what people would think."

Financial exploitation cases generally tend to involve elderly adults in Sullivan County, she said. Filetti said a lot of cases also involve family members who steal prescription medications.

The act will allow the use of depositions from victims in court for cases that make it before a judge, which is currently a complicated task.

"If a person is unable to come to court for their health reasons we can get a doctor to simply say that," said Hinkle. "In those cases, a judge is supposed to give that preference. ... That's a big help because a lot of times our victims have dementia; they may lose their ability to remember, or pass away before we can get it to a jury. That [depositions] will preserve their right to actually be part of the proceedings without actually having to come in."

Under the act, it is no longer necessary for the state to prove that an elderly or vulnerable adult sustained serious bodily injury to convict a person of aggravated abuse or aggravated neglect. Stipulations now include psychological injury in addition to physical injury.

The trend in Sullivan County, however, is that most of the cases are not criminal in nature, according to Hinkle and Filetti.

"That's good, but we're still getting these people the help that they need," said Hinkle. "That's really what VAPIT is all about."

They said the team still investigates each APS referral for the possibility of criminal activity.

Hinkle added that each of the state's teams are responsible for focusing more on making sure victims are linked to resources that can help them, especially when neglect isn't intentional.

"We run into a lot of folks who are in their homes that for them to remain in their home they need additional services," she said. "You may have a husband and wife who both suffer from dementia and they're trying to care for each other. There may be neglect going on, but it's not intentional. You have two individuals who are doing their best."

The act also requires the secretary of state to create a no-solicitation list of elderly and vulnerable adults. The adult, or the adult's designee, can register the address and phone number of individuals to be added to the list.

Hinkle, Filetti and Staubus said they also hope a statewide collaborative public education initiative, "Tennessee is Talking About Elder Abuse," will encourage reporting of any suspected elder abuse. They are disappointed that it isn't mandatory under Tennessee law to report suspicion of elder abuse as it is with child abuse.

The initiative involves the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, Tennessee Department of Human Services and Tennessee Voices for Victims.

VAPIT is considering setting up its own space in the county's Branch House Family Justice Center - a facility that, once open, will provide counseling, legal services, orders of protection, and more from several agencies to victims of elder abuse, child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation.