A former DeKalb County middle school secretary exploited, victimized and imprisoned several elderly and disabled adults – forcing one to jump from a window and break his leg in order to escape.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Ms. Tangela Barrie sentenced Ms. Bobbie Ward to 30 years in prison on a variety of charges that include neglect, exploitation and false imprisonment of an elderly person, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
Ms. Ward, who was also convicted of forgery and 13 counts of identity fraud, was ordered to pay 14,229 in restitution to one of the victims she swindled, the district attorney’s spokesman Mr. Erik Burton said.
For five years, prosecutors said Ms. Ward victimized six elderly and disabled adults who were living in her home.
“She relentlessly preyed on vulnerable adults and exploited them for her own personal financial gain,” District Attorney Mr. Robert James said.
Ms. Ward, a former Cedar Grove Middle School secretary, took elderly and disabled adults into her home and housed them in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, giving them inadequate food and medical treatment, Mr. Burton said.
“One elderly victim who had been locked in his room escaped her house through a window, breaking his foot,” Mr. Burton said. “Ward took money from the victims’ bank accounts and forged their names on government checks without their permission.”
The 51-year-old woman also engaged in a pattern of identity fraud, using the victims’ personal information to set up utility services at 12 different homes, including the identity of someone who was dead.
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