Ford had resigned her position at the facility in December 2021. The crimes are believed to have happened over a two-year period between December 2019 and the time of her resignation.
Massillon Police Detective David McConnell spoke with WEWS after Ford was arrested. He said:
“She had access to these folks, and she took full advantage of them. They all have Alzheimer’s, dementia, all in the memory care unit and they are all between 79 and 90. Shock. Shock. That’s about the best way to describe my reaction to this. Some of them couldn’t even speak. You know, they’re elderly, didn’t know what was going on and she did it for her own personal gratification.”
McConnell also told WEWS that after her arrest, Ford came clean. McConnell stated:
“And she admitted to all these, admitted to taking these videos of herself.”
The Inn at University Village, which provides senior assisted living for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia, released a statement after Ford’s apprehension.
“The safety and well-being of our residents is our highest priority. We have recently been notified that a former employee was involved in mistreating residents. We immediately notified the involved families, police department and other appropriate authorities. We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Because of the ongoing investigation and HIPAA laws, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Police are keeping the investigation open as they try to determine if there are other victims. McConnell noted:
“I don’t believe there are, but we are going to make sure there are not.”
As reported by the Canton Repository, Ford remains jailed on no bond as she awaits her initial hearing on March 11. Coverage of the incident by Breitbart indicated that she was being held on a $250,000 bond.
Police are asking anyone with information about Ford, the alleged assaults or any other possible victims, to call their Tip Line at 330-830-1734.
