The LaSalle Police Service is shining the spotlight on the issue of elder abuse with a tweet sent out on Friday.
Stealing from your Grandmother is a crime. It is considered #ElderAbuse. We will not tolerate it. 1 arrest last week pic.twitter.com/XX21ZscKfA
— LaSalle Police ON (@LaSallePoliceON) July 31, 2015
Constable Harbinder Gill sent the tweet after a LaSalle grandmother's adult grandson allegedly forged a cheque to steal $8,000 from her.
"It's a despicable thing to do," says Gill. "There's your grandmother trying to help you by letting you stay with her. It's like one of those things, 'No good deed goes unpunished.'"
Constable Gill says elder abuse isn't limited to physical assault.
"Elder abuse takes all kinds of shapes and forms. It could be physical abuse, it could be emotional abuse. In this case it was financial abuse, we often see neglect and that's also a form of abuse," says Gill.
A suspect is being charged with fraud over $5,000 and uttering a forged document. He's been released from police custody on a promise to appear.
