(Photo from Glassdoor.com)
By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – A McLean County Grand Jury has indicted two people with violating the state’s law to combat revenge porn following an investigation into alleged abuse of residents at a Chenoa nursing home.
The grand jury charged Samantha Brown, 28, a former worker at the Meadows Mennonite Home, and Michael Scurlock, 47, with non-consensual dissemination of a private sexual image.
Allegations of misconduct were made public in July when the Illinois Department of Public Health announced it had fined the Meadows Mennonite Home $25,000 for failing to protect a half-dozen residents.
The agency said a staff member took unauthorized pictures and video of the residents, some with partial nudity, and posted the images on social media.
The Meadows home is requesting a hearing to challenge the fine, claiming staffers immediately reported the alleged abuse to authorities when they learned of the social media posts.
State’s Attorney Jason Chambers said the charges are the result of a “very thorough” McLean County Sheriff’s Police investigation.
Chambers said detectives poured through 55,000 records, including documents from Facebook.
Brown and Scurlock are charged with Class 4 felonies, with punishments ranging from probation to three-years in prison, a $25,000 fine, restitution to the victims, and forfeiture of any profits made from distributing the images.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
