Mother, Son Deny They Abused Elderly Woman in Their Charge

In a landmark criminal case in Orange County, a 40-year-old San Clemente woman and her 22-year-old son both pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that they abused an elderly woman they were hired to care for.

The defendants, Jacqueline Anderson and her son Kevin Prescott, appeared briefly before Judge Arthur Koelle in South Orange County Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel to enter their pleas. A preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 15.

It is the first time in Orange County that prosecutors have charged anyone under a new state law aimed at halting abuse of the elderly, according to the district attorney’s office.

Anderson and Prescott are accused of bilking Anna P. Knost, an 86-year-old San Clemente widow, of more than $25,000. They are also charged with neglecting the woman so badly that her life was endangered.

Both mother and son deny the charges against them, their attorneys said. But neither defendant spoke in court Tuesday beyond responding to routine motions and procedures.

James Cooper, a San Clemente attorney who is representing Anderson, said she did not want to talk with reporters about the case. “I have advised her not to make any comments,” he said.

Prescott, who also did not make any comments outside court, is being represented by the public defender’s office.

Anderson is free on $25,000 bail, and Prescott is free on his own recognizance.

They were arrested earlier this month after a five-month investigation by the district attorney’s office into allegations of abuse of Knost by her caretakers.

Investigator Kenneth Jones, in his report filed with the court, charged that Anderson and Prescott convinced the elderly woman that she had financial problems and should sell her house, car and stocks. Jones, in the court papers, said that Anderson succeeded in persuading Knost to sell her house on Calle Mayo in San Clemente to Anderson at a price below market value. Anderson and Prescott also bilked Knost of other money by writing checks on her bank account, according to court documents.

The papers filed with the court also alleged that Anderson and Prescott ignored the elderly woman and that she was living in filthy conditions and not taking her medicines.

“Knost was not eating, was unbathed, wore dirty clothes and was left unattended for long periods of time,” Jones said in court papers.

The various charges will be aired at the preliminary hearing, after which the judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant a jury trial in Orange County Superior Court.