Nurse guilty of assaulting three elderly patients

VICTORIA: Victims in advanced states of dementia

A Victoria licensed practical nurse has been convicted of assaulting three elderly residents at the Selkirk Seniors Village last year.

On Friday, Victoria provincial court Judge Lisa Mrozinski found that James Edward Christie struck and used uninvited and unnecessary force against three patients in advanced states of dementia in April and May 2015.

Although Mrozinski believed Christie had also assaulted an elderly woman by slapping her exposed buttock while her incontinence brief was being changed, the date of the offence could not be proved and she acquitted Christie on that charge.

Christie took the stand during the two-day trial and denied the allegations.

However, Mrozinski said she believed the evidence of care aide Ryan Friese, who witnessed the three assaults.

Friese testified that on April 1, he and Christie were changing an elderly man who was becoming agitated and trying to push their hands away.

“James asked me if I wanted to know how to make him stop fidgeting,” Friese said. “And then he punched him in the groin, full fist, quite hard. He buckled with pain and covered his private parts and moaned and screamed in pain.”

Friese testified that he walked out of the room and said nothing to Christie.

On May 25, Friese and Christie were changing another elderly man. The soaker pad on the bed was wet and Friese decided to get another one.

“Before I left, genitals were exposed and James started flicking the end of his penis approximately 15 times,” Friese testified.

The patient started screaming and moaning, but Christie was smirking and smiling, Friese said. “It seemed like he enjoyed riling him.”

That same day, Friese and Christie were changing an elderly woman who often tried to scratch her caregivers. They had developed a protocol of pulling the bottom of the blanket over her hands to prevent this. But that night, Christie pulled the blanket up over the woman’s face and pressed down on her upper body with his body.

Friese didn’t say anything to Christie after these incidents. However, he talked to several employees before going to management and making statements to the police.

“It was my word against his,” said Friese, who thought he would not be believed. He had reported a colleague before and management had done nothing about it, he testified.

“But things started to escalate and I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I was thinking about it non-stop. It made me feel guilty I didn’t come forward sooner.”

Care aide Donna King also testified, saying she had seen Christie slap an elderly woman twice on her exposed buttock. However, King could not remember when she witnessed the assault.

Defence lawyer Geof Simair suggested the court should not believe Friese’s evidence because if what he said was true, Friese would either have stopped Christie or reported him immediately.

Friese’s description of the assaults was varied, yet detailed, Mrozinski said.

“Mr. Friese merits condemnation for standing by and remaining silent in the face of conduct he knew to be harmful and even criminal,” the judge said.

“His rationale, while pathetic, is believable.

“It accords with what we know of human nature, that sadly some will stand by and remain mute in the face of wrongdoing because they are unable or unwilling to act. I accept that Mr. Friese testified that at some point his guilt overwhelmed his other shortcomings.”

Outside court, Crown prosecutor Patrick Weir said he wanted to thank the witnesses for coming forward.

“While it can be very difficult to be the one to step forward, it is necessary to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Weir said.

A date for Christie’s sentencing has not been set.