A now-former director of nursing at a rehabilitation center in Ocean County, New Jersey, admitted that she assaulted a resident at the facility in 2023 and then tried to cover it up, according to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. Patricia Lindo-Ahono, 60, pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree tampering with witnesses and fourth-degree assault upon an institutionalized elderly person after prosecutors said she struck a 77-year-old resident with a broom in June 2023. “Residents of our care facilities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The defendant abdicated her responsibilities, assaulted a resident, and then attempted to cover it up,” Davenport said. According to prosecutors, Lindo-Ahono was serving as the director of nursing at Crystal Lake Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Bayville, New Jersey, on June 24, 2023. On that day, she struck the elderly resident with a broom, officials said. According to prosecutors, Lindo-Ahono also admitted that she tried to induce an individual to withhold information from authorities investigating the incident. As part of her guilty plea, Lindo-Ahono will permanently forfeit her nursing license. In addition, the state will recommend three years of non-custodial probation, conditioned upon court-ordered anger management classes and 50 hours of community service. “Those entrusted with the care of vulnerable residents have a responsibility to protect them,” said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Bernard J. Cooney. “We remain committed to ensuring that abuse of those in our care facilities and efforts to conceal that abuse do not go unchecked.” Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30, 2026. ...read more read less