Jaclyn Dawn VanWinkle pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor charge of reckless abuse or neglect of an adult as part of a plea agreement with the state attorney general’s office which requires her to cooperate with their investigation.
She was sentenced by Special Judge David Hayse to 12 months in jail, which will be conditionally discharged for a two-year period if she does not commit another offense and cooperates with prosecutors. She also is forbidden from working in a job which requires her to care for “vulnerable adults,” including the elderly.
VanWinkle, 25, had been charged with wanton abuse or neglect, a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison after her Dec. 18 arrest.
A hidden camera video showed VanWinkle dancing in front of a patient at Madison Manor, part of the Richmond Health and Rehabilitation complex. The camera had been hidden by the patient’s family, who were concerned about conditions at the nursing home, including possible abuse of residents.
Investigators from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services began looking into the allegations in October, and nine employees, including the administrator and nursing director, were fired.
VanWinkle was working as a nurse’s aide when the video was taken. Her attorney, Jim Baechtold, said after the plea that he thought his client got “a good result.”
“From the beginning, I’ve asserted that while Ms. VanWinkle’s conduct was distasteful, it did not rise to the level of felony abuse,” Baechtold said. “On the day in question, the videotape clearly shows Ms. VanWinkle was operating under the supervision of other employees of Madison Manor that had the responsibility to supervise her conduct.”
Baechtold said VanWinkle has “specifically agreed” to help prosecutors as they investigate and potentially bring charges against other employees.
The state attorney general’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division is prosecuting the case.
Under the terms of the agreement, VanWinkle must pay $158 in court costs by Aug. 24.
Another nursing home in the same complex, Kenwood, is the target of a lawsuit filed March 25 by the executor for the estate of a former patient.
That suit seeks a jury trial against the complex’s owner, Extendicare of Wisconsin, for legal and medical expenses as well as punitive damages.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.
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Jaclyn Dawn VanWinkle waits Monday to enter a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of reckless abuse of an adult as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. VanWinkle will be required to assist prosecutors with their investigation into possible abuse at Madison Manor.
Former nurse’s aide pleads guilty
- Local News
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Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
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Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
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Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
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Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
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Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment.
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Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
- Sports
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H.S. SOFTBALL: Wilder throws one-hitter, Central blanks Southern 4-0
Mackenzie Wilder took a no-hitter into the seventh-inning and Madison Central picked up its fourth straight softball district championship, beating Madison Southern 4-0 Wednesday night at Gertrude Hood Field at Eastern Kentucky University.
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H.S. BASEBALL: Indians roll to sixth straight title
The Indians delivered the knockout punch early against Model Laboratory Wednesday in the championship game of the 44th District Tournament at EKU’s Turkey Hughes.
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GLENMORE: Pendergrass and East champs at MCC
Eighteen twosomes teed it up over the weekend at the Madison Country Club in the Men’s Annual Member/Guest Tournament and Skip East stepped into the winners circle with a thirty-six hole total of 122.
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H.S. SOFTBALL: Wilder throws one-hitter, Central blanks Southern 4-0
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Happy are they who finish what they start
Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.
— Psalm 144:15 - Looking at various things
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- Viewpoints
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Why would anyone not vote?
Should those of us who vote be disturbed that so few people voted in this past Tuesday’s election?
Only 17 percent of Madison County’s registered voters went to the polls. And, not everyone who’s eligible is registered to vote. - Republicans are making some noise
- Taking our Sunday night baths
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