Tenant denies neglecting vulnerable adults
Published 10:11 am Friday, April 26, 2013
An Austin woman accused of abandoning two vulnerable adults she was watching pleaded not guilty to all charges in Mower County Court.
Rosalba Perez, 32, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two felony and two gross misdemeanor charges of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult.
According to the court complaint, an officer went to the Austin home on Sept. 19, 2012, where he found a 62-year-old man and 83-year-old woman living in filth. The officer said the house reeked of urine and was riddled with old food on plates and in containers and many beer cans. A social worker claims Perez was cashing the victim’s social security checks and keeping the money.
The victims said Perez collected rent money from them but did not pay the rent on the home. They added Perez would not cook for them and would only give them what was left of what she ate, and she would not wash their clothes for them.
The male victim, who suffers from diabetes, cannot stand, and was laying in his own urine, the complaint added. Both victims had very high blood pressure, and doctors discovered the woman was suffering from congestive heart failure, as well.
Perez has a pretrial set for Aug. 2.