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 Nov. 12, 2019, following a presentation to a Middlesex County Grand Jury by Assistant Prosecutor Russell Curley, Kenitra Hicks, 36, 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 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, according to updated information provided by Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Frank
LoSacco of the East Brunswick Police Department on July 30.
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.
Hicks 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, according to the statement.
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, according to the statement.
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, according to the statement. 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,” Ciccone said in the statement.