3 workers sentenced to 60 days in jail for abusing senior in Calgary nursing home

CALGARY – Three Calgary nursing home workers have been sentenced to 60 days in jail for abusing a 92-year-old man.

In February 2014, Ulrich Wissner told his family about the abuse at Carewest Garrison Green, so his son secretly installed a camera.

It showed three women slapping, flicking water at, and threatening to pour urine on Wissner, who died a month later.

Court heard that Wissner was bedridden, physically frail, and had cancer.

Maria Teresa Dumo, May Casimero, and Angelina Borja all pleaded guilty to assault.

Wissner's family says the senior lived the last months of his life feeling afraid, helpless and angry instead of comfortable and safe.

“It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody, it’s been a very difficult thing to go through,” Peter Wissner, Ulrich's son, said through tears.

“Honestly, I didn’t think this would happen to me today. We haven’t even been able to grieve his death because this has been going on until now.”

Peter was asked about a comment made by one of the workers that "there’s other people (who) did worse."

“That comment has been in my head since I heard it the first time in court. I don’t know if it’s just somebody desperate in an interview trying to justify their actions, or if it’s really true.

"I hope it’s not. But I certainly hope that the sentence is a message to anybody out there that may have been, or may still be mistreating people in a position of trust that it’s not acceptable.”