By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG
PLATTSBURGH — A local man has admitted taking a sexually explicit photo of a male patient in Clinton County Nursing Home.
Shane Spooner, a former nurse’s aide at the Nursing Home, was arrested earlier this month following an investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
After surrendering to law enforcement, Spooner, 33, was charged with the felony offenses of second-degree unlawful surveillance and first-degree dissemination of an unlawful surveillance image.
Authorities lodged the charges after learning that Spooner had taken a cell-phone picture of a 49-year-old patient’s genitals and then sent a text message with the photo to a female employee.
That employee, who was not working at the time, reported the incident to her supervisors. Spooner was fired.
After his arrest, the father of two reportedly told investigators that he had taken the picture for his own amusement. He took the photo while he was caring for the patient, who suffers from a traumatic brain injury.
This week, Spooner returned to Plattsburgh City Court for his second appearance and pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of attempted first-degree dissemination of an unlawful surveillance image.
The terms of his negotiated plea were not released Thursday, but Spooner faces up to a year in jail when sentenced.
He was released from Clinton County Jail on $1,000 cash bail the day of his arrest and is now due back in court Oct. 23 for sentencing.
Spooner, who has three past misdemeanor convictions, was working as a part-time dishwasher at CVPH Medical Center at the time of his arrest and is currently on a leave of absence, hospital officials said Thursday.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has called Spooner’s actions “a disgusting example of abuse within the walls of a New York nursing home.”
The incident prompted Clinton County Nursing Home officials to review the facility’s policies and procedures, though employees are already trained on abuse protocols and the protection of residents.
Spooner has not publicly commented on the case and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:
avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com
