Office of the Attorney General
Two Community Presence Caregivers Plead Guilty to Abusing a Patient

Attorney General Jack Conway today announced a plea agreement in the case of two Kentucky caregivers arrested on charges relating to the abuse of a patient at Community Presence, Inc. Todd Gribbin from Flatwoods and Earl Pelphrey from Grayson in Carter County pled guilty to wantonly abusing an adult, wanton endangerment first degree and unlawful imprisonment first degree, all class D felonies. The pleas occurred on Friday, December 4, in Carter Circuit Court.

Gribbin and Pelphrey were indicted in Carter Circuit Court in connection with the abuse of Michael Price, a mentally handicapped adult who was under the care of and resided at Community Presence, Inc. Gribbin and Pelphrey worked at Community Presence’s Adult Day Treatment facility.  According to the indictment, on September 20, 2007, Gribbin and Pelphrey, as well as other caregivers from Community Presence, laid on the victim’s back and chest for extended periods of time. As part of the plea agreement, they will serve a one-year sentence. Gribbin and Pelphrey have agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigations and prosecutions of Community Presence, Inc. staff members.

Investigators from the Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division assisted the Grayson Police Department in the investigation of the case and the arrests of both defendants. Prosecutors from the Medicaid Fraud Division handled the prosecution of this case at the request of the Carter County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2010 in Carter Circuit Court.

Charges in this case are still pending against Bob Thompson and Michael Yates. Bob Thompson, Regina Stephens and Ira Lee Griffith also face charges in connection with other allegations of patient abuse at the facility. Investigations into Community Presence, Inc. are ongoing.

Todd Gribbin

Earl Pelphrey