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SALT LAKE COUNTY -- The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office now has a team to deal with criminal cases of elderly abuse and neglect.
"Over the past year, we've seen some very striking cases," said Deputy County Attorney Alicia Cook, who will lead the team of three prosecutors and several staff members. The team will have other duties within the office, but their focus will be on elderly abuse.
"We have watched these cases come in with some concern," Cook said. "We do feel that it's an indication of things to come."
Cook said she believes the cases will grow because of the aging population, but also because of increased awareness to cases where elderly people are abused, neglected or exploited.
"This is something we have been building toward for the last couple of years," said District Attorney Lohra Miller, "and now that we have received some resources through grant funding we can take the next step to making a significant improvement in our response to elder abuse."
The team will work with police and aging services to aid in prosecuting cases. A grant will also fund an investigator.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
