Carla Caraballo, 59, of Plainfield, plead guilty to third-degree neglect of an elderly or disabled person. Her sentence came right after by Superior Court Judge Catherine I. Enright, who gave her one year of probation and 10 hours of community service. As part of the plea deal, Caraballo had to permanently give up her New Jersey homemaker-home health aide certificate.
She was arrested July 9 of last year, posted bail and had to file a consent order to temporarily suspend her certification. The 91-year-old victim lived in a senior center in Denville where Caraballo worked. She suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, which caused for her to have 24 hour surveillance. The victim’s family had installed cameras to monitor her treatment.
An incident occurred on July 6, 2016 that caused for the family’s suspicion of Caraballo. The cameras allegedly caught the victim falling from her bed and Caraballo ignoring it before eventually picking her up, reprimanding her for getting out of bed, and wiping blood from her face. The video supposedly shows Caraballo scrolling through her phone seated on the victim’s wheelchair while the victim was on the floor. Caraballo later called the victim’s daughter claiming she fell while holding onto her hand. Since that incident, the family reported Carballo’s behavior to the police.
Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced, “Caraballo is permanently barred from working as a home health aide in New Jersey, and she is forever branded a convicted elder abuser if she were to try to seek such employment elsewhere.”
All persons presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law
Photo: Courtesy of New Jersey Attorney General
