The Camden woman admitted intentionally spraying bleach into the resident’s face and eyes, becoming the latest New Jersey healthcare worker to plead guilty in a case involving the abuse of a vulnerable patient.
CHERRY HILL, NJ — A certified nurse’s aide has admitted spraying a paralyzed elderly nursing home resident in the face and eyes with bleach, another case in a recent string of New Jersey prosecutions involving healthcare workers accused of assaulting people entrusted to their care.
Simone Goldsboro, 37, of Camden, pleaded guilty in Camden County Superior Court to third-degree aggravated assault and fourth-degree assault upon an institutionalized elderly person, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced Thursday.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend 364 days in the Camden County Jail and the permanent forfeiture of Goldsboro’s certified nurse’s aide license. The state will also seek a probationary term after her jail sentence.
Goldsboro is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 30.
Patient was paralyzed following a stroke
Goldsboro worked as a licensed certified nurse’s aide at Avista Healthcare Nursing Home in Cherry Hill when the assault occurred Aug. 17, 2023, according to court documents and statements made during her plea.
The patient, identified by authorities only as D.S., was older than 60 and had been left paralyzed on one side of her body following a stroke.
Goldsboro admitted using more force than necessary while undressing the woman so she could clean her.
She then left the room, went to a custodian’s cart and retrieved a spray bottle containing bleach, prosecutors said.
Goldsboro admitted she knew the chemical was intended for custodial cleaning and was not supposed to be used on patients.
She intentionally sprayed the bleach at the resident, including into her face and eyes, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Prosecutors said Goldsboro knew spraying bleach into someone’s eyes could cause significant bodily injury, including temporary or permanent loss of eyesight.
Third recent guilty plea involving abuse inside NJ care facilities
The case follows at least two other recent New Jersey prosecutions covered by Shore News Network involving nurses or healthcare professionals admitting to assaults against elderly residents.
In Ocean County, licensed practical nurse Lisa L. Erikson, 57, of Manchester, admitted pepper-spraying an elderly dementia patient and leaving him without care at a Whiting rehabilitation and nursing center.
Erikson pleaded guilty in August to second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and third-degree neglect of an elderly adult.
The victim in that case suffered from dementia, depression and anxiety. State officials said Erikson retrieved her personal pepper spray and sprayed the resident several times at close range as he tried to protect himself. He was then left on the floor without care before eventually crawling to his feet.
Erikson agreed to permanently surrender her nursing license. Prosecutors will recommend 364 days in county jail as a condition of probation when she is sentenced Nov. 13.
Nursing director admitted hitting resident with broom
Just days after Erikson’s plea, Shore News Network reported that former nursing director Patricia Lindo-Ahono, 60, of Irvington, admitted striking a 77-year-old rehabilitation center resident with a broom at Crystal Lake Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Bayville.
Lindo-Ahono had been the facility’s director of nursing when the June 2023 assault occurred.
She pleaded guilty to third-degree tampering with witnesses and fourth-degree assault upon an institutionalized elderly person. She also admitted attempting to get another person to withhold information from investigators after the assault.
Under that plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend three years of non-custodial probation, anger management classes and 50 hours of community service. Lindo-Ahono will also permanently surrender her nursing license.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30 — the same day Goldsboro is scheduled to be sentenced in Camden County.
State prosecutors target abuse of vulnerable residents
All three cases were prosecuted through New Jersey’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit within the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, which investigates abuse and neglect involving elderly, disabled and institutionalized patients.
“We have to trust the people who care for our loved ones at residential facilities,” Davenport said following Goldsboro’s plea. “This defendant exploited that trust and physically assaulting a paralyzed patient in her care. We will not tolerate the abuse of elderly and vulnerable individuals, especially by those entrusted with their care.”
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Bernard J. Cooney said Goldsboro had been responsible for caring for a vulnerable nursing home resident but instead deliberately exposed her to the risk of significant injury.
New Jersey’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives both federal and state funding. The unit has $11.6 million in funding for federal fiscal year 2026, with 75% coming through a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant and the remaining 25% funded by New Jersey, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General maintains an elder abuse reporting system for suspected Medicaid fraud, abuse or neglect. Reports can also be made to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 609-292-1272.
Goldsboro’s case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Michael A. Klein and Camille L. McKnight. Cherry Hill police assisted with the investigation, which was led for the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor by Detective Anthony Valerio.
The case joins continuing Shore News Network coverage of New Jersey, crime, health and local news.