Local woman sentenced in elder abuse case

Tulare County Superior Court Judge James Hollman sentenced 54-year-old Mary Louise Moore of Porterville to five years probation and 270 days in jail for felony elder abuse.

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said Friday that Moore was ordered to pay $18,781 in restitution and is prohibited from having firearms or ammunition and gambling, as she is now considered a convicted felon.

Moore must turn herself in to do her jail time by March 18, said Phil Esbenshada, superivision district attorney.

Moore was arrested in May of 2012 for taking approximately $28,000 from an 87-year-old woman who was in her care. According to police reports, detectives with the Porterville Police Department were contacted by the Tulare County Adult Protective Services alleging financial abuse that had been occurring since 2010.

The crime took place at an assisted living home in the 500 block of West Kanai Avenue, where Moore worked as a caregiver.

After contacting the victim’s family members, detectives found that about $28,000 was missing from the woman’s bank accounts. Moore later confessed to the crime, stating she had taken the money without the woman’s permission, gambled $12,000 at the casino, and kept $9,000 in cash in a safe in her house.

The cash was later recovered and returned to the victim’s family.