Friday, July 30, 2021
NEW BRUNSWICK NJ. – Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Frank LoSacco of the East Brunswick Police Department announced that the last of five former Broadway Respite and Home Care employees has been convicted for offenses involving the abuse of two adults who attended daycare at the facility.
On November 12, 2019, following a presentation to a Middlesex County Grand Jury by Assistant Prosecutor Russell Curley, Hicks was indicted along with Asia Lunn, 24, Kieasha Morgan, 25, both of New Brunswick, Hugo Lorenzo, 27, of North Brunswick and Janella Allen, 32, of Elizabeth.
The defendants, all former employees of Broadway Respite and Home Care, were arrested and charged following an investigation by Detective Crispin Farrace of the East Brunswick Police Department and Detective Olivia Ankudowicz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation determined that in May 2019, Hicks, Lorenzo, and Allen physically abused two severely disabled individuals who attended the adult day care.
On July 21, 2021, Hicks, Lorenzo, Allen, and Morgan were sentenced in Superior Court by the Honorable Benjamin Bucca, J.S.C.
Kenitra Hicks, 36, of New Brunswick was sentenced to a three-year term of probation with a 90-day suspended term in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center after having pled guilty to one count of third-degree endangering another person.
Lorenzo was convicted of one count of third-degree endangering another person for which he was sentenced to a three-year term of probation with a 90-day suspended term in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center and fined $1,000.
Allen was convicted of one count of disorderly persons endangering another person for which she was sentenced to a two-year term of probation and fined $500.
Morgan was sentenced to a one-year term of probation after having pled guilty to one count of disorderly persons failure to report abuse, a violation of Stephen Konmino’s Law.
On July 23, 2021, Lunn was also convicted of one count of third-degree abandonment and neglect of a disabled person for which she was sentenced to a five-year term of probation, ordered to serve 180 days in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, and fined $1,000.
Although initially charged, Broadway Respite and Home Care ultimately entered into a non-prosecution agreement where the center agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and make major improvements to the training of its employees. The facility remains subject to court-ordered monitoring.
“I applaud the efforts by those who successfully investigated and prosecuted this case. Their efforts gave a voice to those who fight to express themselves. The successful conclusion of this case demonstrates the abuse and neglect of our disabled community will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Prosecutor Ciccone.