The population of people over 60 is rising鈥攁nd so are the numbers of cases of abuse of elderly people. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports says the state has been struggling to deal with those cases and try to prevent more of these crimes from happening.
Elder abuse can be physical, emotional or financial. And while more than 13,000 cases were reported in Ohio during the last fiscal year, some experts estimate the real numbers could be over 100,000. And for the victims, it鈥檚 humiliating, soul-crushing and catastrophic.
Ramona Wilson knows that all too well. The 83-year-old woman runs a Christian outreach mission from her Columbus home, and tells a story of meeting a younger man named Charles Sellers in her church in 2005. Within months they had married, and he started taking money from her.
When he went missing in 2006, she didn鈥檛 know what to do鈥攕o she called the police. That brought to her door David Kessler, an elder abuse investigator with the Attorney General鈥檚 office.
Here are Ramona Wilson and David Kessler in their own words describing how their relationship blossomed in 2006, when Kessler knocked on her door and asked her if she had time to make him a cup of coffee so they could talk.
鈥淚 was thinking, come on, let鈥檚 drink this coffee, I鈥檝e got things planned. I had two cars running in my garage, and my plan was to go out and kill myself,鈥� Wilson says. 鈥淕od sent him in right at the nick of time. Had it been five minutes later, I would not have answered that door. It鈥檚 a devastating time, and had Dave Kessler not came at the moment that he came, I wouldn鈥檛 be sitting here today. I鈥檓 grateful to him. I owe him my life.鈥�
Kessler jumps in. 鈥淎nd what you鈥檙e hearing here is so, so unique, because our victims suffer in silence. She would have suffered in the ultimate silence 鈥� she would have taken her own life,鈥� Kessler says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 so powerful to have an elderly person come out and say, 鈥榊ou know what? I鈥檓 not stupid, I鈥檓 not dumb. You shouldn鈥檛 blame me for my victimization.鈥� You wouldn鈥檛 blame a sexual assault victim for their victimization. You wouldn鈥檛 blame a homicide person for their victim. We don鈥檛 blame that small child for their victimization. So why would you ever blame this wonderful lady for marrying someone and that relationship was all based on fraud to get into her bank account?鈥�
Charles Sellers was eventually caught and prosecuted, and ordered to prison and to pay Ramona Wilson more than $14,000 in restitution. But he鈥檚 been released and has left the state. How much has he paid her back?
鈥淪ix dollars,鈥� Wilson says.
The elder abuse unit David Kessler worked for in the AG鈥檚 office was dissolved several years ago, and Kessler is now with the Fairfield County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office. But he also operates a website called . He says 90 percent of the cases he works on involve elderly victims being scammed by people they know and trust. And with the state鈥檚 heroin and prescription painkillers at epidemic levels, elderly people are easy targets.
鈥淚n our society, what group of people historically have their homes paid off, have nest eggs, get monies in every month from Social Security or pensions?鈥� Kessler says. 鈥淎nd then what grandmother would be willing to say, 鈥榊ou know what, Mr. Kessler? It鈥檚 my grandson. Go ahead and investigate him and put him in the penitentiary.'鈥�
The AG鈥檚 office says it has an elder justice initiative that seeks to educate seniors, caretakers and family members about elder abuse. The AG's office says it can work with local officials to investigate and prosecute scammers when they鈥檙e found.
The budget that passed the House has $3.5 million per year for elder protective services, which includes about $30,000 for each of Ohio鈥檚 88 counties. But advocates say that鈥檚 not enough to hire a full time caseworker or investigator, so they鈥檙e working with senators to try to get that increased.