FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 25, 2000
Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that a former employee of Flying Colors of Success, a non-profit organization which runs group homes throughout Maryland serving persons with developmental disabilities, was found guilty of one count of second degree assault and one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult for attacking a severely retarded adult in her care.
Patricia Konyeaso, of the unit block of Yuma Court in Randallstown, Maryland, was entrusted with the care of the victim and two other individuals inside the group home when she grabbed the victim by the collar and shoved him against a wall. The assault was interrupted by a co-worker. The victim was not physically injured.
Baltimore County District Court judge Vicki Ballou Watts sentenced Konyeaso to a three year suspended sentence and two years supervised probation. During that probationary period, Konyeaso must pay a $750 fine, complete 116 hours of community service, and may not provide hands-on care to vulnerable adults or to children.
"This should serve as a warning that elderly abuse of any kind will not be tolerated in the state of Maryland," General Curran said. "It is especially unsettling when that abuse occurs in a facility where care should be paramount."
The case was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, which has the authority to investigate and prosecute patient abuse cases occurring in the State of Maryland.