The footage, taken between March 3 and March 11, 2011, shows Russel Torralba and Alfredo Ruiz apparently masturbating and groping each other at the foot of their patient’s bed, XETV reported. A 98-year-old woman lies unable to speak or move her hands because of a stroke.
In one video, one of the men appears to be undoing his scrubs and exposing himself. Another shows the same man kissing the woman.
William Berman, attorney for the woman’s family. said he was shocked by the videos.
“I myself couldn’t believe it,” Berman told XETV-TV, adding that it was the most shocking case of elder abuse he’s seen in 15 years of practice in that specialty.
Torralba and Ruiz have had their nursing licenses suspended pending a hearing next week and the San Diego District Attorney’s office is considering criminal charges. The California Department of Consumer Affairs has been conducting an investigation into their employer, AMS Home Care Solutions, since last year.
“It appears to show very egregious behavior,” Department spokesman Russ Heimerich told the San Diego Union-Tribune.“I don’t know if we’ve ever had a case that has a video like this. We are working to shut them down.”
AMS Home Care Solutions didn’t respond to The Huffington Post’s request for comment.
The current suspension on Ruiz and Torralba bars the men from working for home health agencies, but allows them to work in hospital settings. A hearing on the permanent suspension of their licenses is scheduled for Nov. 14.
The victim’s family has sued the two men and their employer for alleged fraud, elder abuse and negligent supervision and that trial is set for Jan. 14.
“It’s not about the money,” Berman told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “it’s about dignity and accountability, to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
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