If you are being charged with elder abuse or a related crime, you must take that seriously. Older people can be quite vulnerable in today’s society, so the state of Iowa treats attempts to harm them or take advantage of them quite harshly. You should talk to our Dallas County criminal lawyers and begin working on a defensive strategy.

When Can Someone Be Charged With Elder Abuse?

Someone can be charged with elder abuse if they mistreat a vulnerable older person in any way. This charge can cover things like:

  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Abandonment
  • Neglect
  • Financial exploitation

If you have an older person in your life who cannot care for themselves, you are supposed to help them. If you are instead accused of causing them harm when they are at their most vulnerable, you can be charged with a serious crime.

Is Elder Abuse a Felony?

Elder abuse can be charged as a felony. Whether you are hit with a misdemeanor charge or a felony charge largely depends on the nature of the crime. For example, assaulting an individual may be a misdemeanor. Financially exploiting them and stealing a significant amount of money could be a felony.

How Can Elder Abuse Be Punished?

Again, this largely depends on the exact nature of the crime. You can be almost certain that fines and jail time are potential punishments though, even if you are being charged with a misdemeanor. Let’s look at some of these elder abuse charges and their potential penalties:

Assault of an older individual: Physically abusing and hitting a senior could get you a simple misdemeanor charge. Penalties on the table would include up to $855 in fines and 30 days in jail. However, the state could also upgrade the misdemeanor or charge you with a class D felony. This can mean up to five years in prison and up to $10,245 in fines.

Elder abuse: A charge of elder abuse can be a serious or aggravated misdemeanor. It can also be upgraded to a felony though. So you could be looking at a prison sentence of a year or up to 10 years depending on the severity of the charge.

Financial exploitation of an older individual: This can be a serious misdemeanor or a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

How Can You Defend Yourself Against These Charges?

Our lawyers will do their best to figure out the best way to defend you from these charges. In some cases, you can argue that there was no intent to cause harm. A good example of this would be if an older person you were caring for fell and then you were accused of harming them yourself. You did not strike them, so you cannot be credibly charged with physically abusing them.

Talk to a Defense Attorney

If you are ready to fight back against these charges and avoid harsh penalties like jail time, contact Iowa Defenders. We can schedule a consultation and tell you more about your rights in the legal system.