Caregiver for Long Island woman charged with elder abuse

A Long Island caregiver has been charged with elder abuse after Nassau County police said she was observedon a surveillance camera physically abusing an 83-year-old woman in her care —”striking, grabbing, yanking and punching the victim’s face and body.”

Police said Merlyn Fredericks, 36, of Queens, is scheduled for arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead, charged with second-degree assault, first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent / physically disabled person and second-degree endangerment of a vulnerable elderly / incompetent person. It was not immediately clear Friday if Fredericks was represented by counsel.

The incident caught on surveillance video occurred Feb. 19 at a home in Woodmere, police said.

Police said the victim suffers from a cognitive disorder and said her legal guardian placed the surveillance camera in the home after becoming aware the victim had “a significant amount of bruising on her body.”

When questioned about the bruising, police said Fredericks told the guardian the victim had fallen “on multiple occasions.”

But, police said, the surveillance video showed otherwise.

In a statement Friday, police said: “While watching the camera footage, a woman was observed physically abusing the victim by striking, grabbing, yanking and punching the victim’s face and body.” That woman was identified by police as Fredericks.

Police are asking anyone who believes they have been — or know — a victim of a similar incident to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.