Former assisted living employee sentenced for stealing from residents

A former assisted living employee was sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections Tuesday for stealing items from the homes of residents of a west suburban senior living facility in Elmhurst in 2015.

On November 11, 2015, the Elmhurst Police Department began an investigation into missing items, including jewelry, from a resident’s home in the independent living side of Park Place senior living facility, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney office.

The facility is divided into an independent living side and an assisted living side, the statement explained. The investigation revealed that on several occasions spanning from Nov. 4 to the Nov. 25, Eugene Dorsey, a nurse’s assistant, entered at least 11 resident’s homes on the independent side, where he was not allowed.

Dorsey stole rings, bracelets, and necklaces, the statement said. He then pawned the items.

“Thinking only of himself, Mr. Dorsey stole thousands of dollars worth of valuables, many of which held significant sentimental value, from his victims,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said. “The fact that all of his victims are more than eighty years old and had placed a tremendous amount of trust in Mr. Dorsey, makes his crimes particularly appalling.”

On June 1, Dorsey, 31, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of residential burglary, the statement said. He will be required to serve 50 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.