Pocono News Section

Schuylkill County Starts Elder Abuse Unit

Schuylkill County Starts Elder Abuse Unit - Friday, February 13, 2009 at 4:20PM EST

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY -- "We must protect the elderly," said Schuylkill County D. A. James Goodman. "We must protect the people that aren't able to protect themselves.

That's why the Schuylkill County D. A.s office has formed an "Elder Abuse Unit." Assistant D. A.s will play key roles.

"Tom Campion is a certified public accountant in addition to attorney, so he'll concentrate on financial exploitation cases," said Goodman. "Also, Alynn Starry will deal with neglect of the elderly."

Detective Dolly Malec and Jennifer Hendricks are also part of the unit.

"I think the awareness that it creates is just fantastic," said Hendricks, who's with the Office of Senior Services. "I've seen our number of referrals increase, and I hope we continue catching the people that do it."

Two Schuylkill County cases in the spotlight this week involve hundreds of thousands of dollars getting taken from the elderly, and the D. A. wants the problem to stop.

"Call the hotline and find out what they can do, what information they need to give to us," said Campion. "And we can investigate the case to see if it's criminal action that something can be done about it."

Nearly a quarter of the people who live in Schuylkill County are at least 60 years old, and the Elder Abuse Unit wants to protect them. Anyone with questions can call the county's area agency on aging at 1-800-832-3313.