Ex-Fairhaven nursing home worker charged with posting inappropriate videos of residents

Jan. 01--NEW BEDFORD -- A former Fairhaven nursing home worker charged with posting inappropriate videos of residents on social media will be back in court Jan. 17, according to court documents.

Deeshawn Venegas, 27, of 4 Penniman St., Apartment 1, New Bedford, is accused of recording two videos of residents at The Royal of Fairhaven and posting them to Snapchat, New Bedford District Court records indicate.

In one 6-second video, a 69-year-old man is shown walking down the hallway, not wearing any pants or underwear, court documents say. The second video, which is 10 seconds in length, shows a woman who has soiled herself.

Venegas is charged with one count of photographing an unsuspecting nude person, which carries a maximum punishment of 2 1/2 years in the House of Correction or a $5,000 fine or both, according to Chapter 272, Section 105b of the Massachusetts General Laws.

"The elderly and the families in assisted living homes place a lot of trust in their caregivers. An allegation like this is an obvious betrayal of that trust," said Fairhaven Lt. Kevin Kobza, a spokesman for the Fairhaven Police Department.

"The allegations against one employee don't reflect on the actions of all the employees," he said.

The nursing home's management promptly contacted Fairhaven police after learning of the incident, court documents say. "When they became aware of it, they notified us," Kobza said.

According to court documents, Robert Noonan, nursing home administrator, met with Fairhaven police on Oct. 24 and told them about the incident after learning of it on Oct. 23. A witness said the videos were taken and posted the night of Oct. 22 on Snapchat.

Noonan declined to comment when contacted Monday by The Standard-Times.

Venegas is free on $500 cash bail, which was set by Judge Robert S. Ovoian when she was arraigned Dec. 19 in New Bedford District Court. She is due back in court Jan. 17 for a pretrial hearing.

As a condition of her release, Venegas can not have any contact with the elderly in a nursing home, according to court documents. Ovoian also gave Venegas a bail revocation warning, which means she could be held for up to 90 days without bail if she is arrested on a new offense, while this case is pending.

Fairhaven police sought a summons for Venegas to appear in New Bedford District Court, and when she did not, police obtained an arrest warrant for her, Kobza said.

Although Venegas is accused in court documents with taking and posting two videos, she is only charged with one of the incidents. Representatives of the Fairhaven Police Department and the Bristol County District Attorney's office offered several explanations, but did not have an answer for this.

Follow Curt Brown on Twitter @CurtBrown_SCT

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