2 former Glenview nursing home aides plead guilty in Snapchat video taunting of dementia patient, 91

Two former aides at a Glenview nursing home have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a Snapchat video that showed them taunting a 91-year-old woman with dementia.

Brayan Cortez and Jamie Montesa pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, and a Cook County judge sentenced them to court supervision.

The Abington of Glenview has said it fired them “when it was determined that they violated our standards and policies.” It still faces a lawsuit filed by the daughter of Margaret Collins, the woman with dementia, who accuses the nursing home of violating the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to the suit, the video, recorded in December and posted to Snapchat with the caption “Margaret hates gowns” and a laughing-crying emoji, shows Cortez and Montesa forcing the elderly dementia patient to take off her own clothes and put on a hospital gown even though the staff knew she didn’t like to wear them and that doing so upset her.

Appearing distressed, Collins is seen flailing her arms and pushing the gown away.

“They deliberately taunted and bullied my mom,” Joan Biebel, Collins’ daughter, said in a written statement. “And they’re not even supposed to have phones when they’re on duty. They did this for their own entertainment and posted it for their friends.”

According to Biebel, the nursing home found the Collins family’s complaints “unfounded.” But after the Glenview police began investigation, The Abington said the two employees had been “immediately terminated.”

Collins’ children moved her to another facility.