CECIL COUNTY COUNSELOR CHARGED WITH ABUSE OF A VULNERABLE ADULT

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that charges were filed against Myrl Ward, a former house counselor at a group home run by Shorehaven, Inc. in Cecil County. Ward, who lives in the unit block of Pleasant Hill Drive in Elkton, was charged by criminal information in Cecil County Circuit Court with one count of second degree abuse of a vulnerable adult and one count of second degree assault for an incident that occurred on August 22, 2006 where she was caring for a developmentally disabled man.

Second Degree Abuse of a Vulnerable Person is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Second Degree Assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. A criminal information is an accusation and all persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has the authority to prosecute abuse of vulnerable adults in Medicaid-funded facilities. The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office from the Maryland Disability Law Center.