Police Log

By Daniel Kittredge
Posted 3/10/16

NY man indicted on child molestation charges

A New York man has been indicted on 10 counts of first-degree child molestation following a local investigation.

Jonathan Phillips, 33, of 11 …

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Police Log

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NY man indicted on child molestation charges

A New York man has been indicted on 10 counts of first-degree child molestation following a local investigation.

Jonathan Phillips, 33, of 11 Donellan Road in Hampton Bay, N.Y., is scheduled to be arraigned in Providence Superior Court on March 23. He also faces on count of second-degree child molestation.

According to the attorney general’s office, Phillips is accused of molesting two girls – both age 14 or younger – between May 20, 2011, and May 1, 2013. The alleged incidents took place in Cranston, and Cranston police led the investigation.

Woman pleads to financial elder exploitation

A Cranston woman has entered a no-contest plea to one count of financial elder exploitation, according to the office of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

Michaela Sprague, 53, entered the plea in Superior Court on March 2, according to a statement from prosecutors. Under the terms of an agreement, she received a five-year sentence, with two years and three months to serve on home confinement and the remainder suspended with probation. She was additionally ordered to pay $161,579 in restitution, and to have no contact with the victim.

According to Kilmartin’s office, prosecutors were prepared to demonstrate that Sprague, between December 2010 and July 2013, stole $161,579 from her mother’s bank account and used the money to pay for her own expenses. 

“Noticing a significant increase in withdrawals from the victim’s account, a financial advisor brought the concerns to the victim’s other family members, who in turn confronted the defendant,” the statement from Kilmartin’s office reads. “After Sprague failed to pay the money back as promised, the family turned the matter over to the Rhode Island State Police to investigate.”

“All too often, elderly victims are ashamed with being taken advantage of by someone close to them, a child even, or they don’t want to see a relative get into legal trouble. They would rather suffer impoverishment than be the one to report the abuse,” Kilmartin said through the statement. “It is critically important for all those who are involved with caring for a senior – either financially or physically, and whether in a familial or professional relationship – to know the signs of abuse and to report it to the appropriate authorities. We owe our seniors at least that.”

Woman admits abusing group home patient

A 33-year-old Cranston woman has admitted abusing a patient at a group home where she worked, according to prosecutors.

Vanessa Theodore on March 4 entered a no-contest plea in Superior Court, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin’s office said through a statement. She faced one count of patient abuse and two counts of patient mistreatment. Under the terms of a plea deal, she received a three-year sentence, with three months to serve at the ACI, nine months of home confinement, and the remainder suspended with probation.

Theodore also pleaded no contest to an unrelated charge of passing a fraudulent check over $1,500, prosecutors said. She received a one-year sentence, which was suspended with probation and will run concurrent to her other sentence. 

Kilmartin’s office said had the case gone to trial, the state would have show that in May 2015, while working as a direct support professional at Perspectives Group Home in East Greenwich, Theodore “physically assaulted and improperly restrained a physically and mentally disabled female.”

Prosecutors said during the investigation, videos showing the abuse were obtained. Another group home employee reported the abuse to authorities.

“The victim relied on the defendant to help her with the most basic needs, and instead of treating her with care and compassion, the defendant physically abused the woman,” Kilmartin said through the statement. “No matter their physical or mental limitations, every person deserves to be properly cared for and treated with dignity and respect.” 

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