UKIAH, Calif. (CN). - California's top criminal investigator has accused six nursing home workers of abusing elderly residents by smothering them head to toe in ointment to make them "slippery" for co-workers on the next shift.
"This is despicable behavior by people placed in a position of trust," said Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr.
He said the "cruel and shocking" practical joke left seven "defenseless" residents of the Valley View Nursing Facility covered in ointment cream.
The nursing home fired Jenny Bido, Christian Guerrero, Jared Buckley, Jennifer Burton, Kathleen Phillips and Monica Smith for the "prank."
The state has charged each worker with injury and battery on an elder, conspiracy, and battery committed while on hospital property.
Brown's investigation prompted the Mendocino County District Attorney to pursue separate criminal charges against the workers.
"Mendocino County is home to a growing elder population," District Attorney Meredith Lintott said. "We're committed to keeping that population safe and to prosecuting those who take advantage of our elders."
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