Manchester Health Aide Fired Over Sex Abuse Charge: Authorities

MANCHESTER, NJ — A home health aide from Manchester Township has had his license suspended by the state in the wake of his arrest on charges he sexually abused an elderly woman under his care, state officials announced Tuesday.

Michael A. Edwards, also known as Michael A. Donaldson, 32, of Manchester, was arrested May 21 after his employer, Sunrise Senior Living facility in Jackson, told police that another employee caught Edwards inappropriately touching an 84-year-old woman in her room at the facility.

Jackson police said the woman was a memory care patient, and that Sunrise administrative staff took immediate action to protect her and alert police as soon as they were made aware of the incident.

Edwards was charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact, Jackson police said, and he was fired from the facility.

The suspension of Edwards's certified homemaker-home health aide license is temporary pending the outcome of the criminal charges against him. In a consent order filed by the state Board of Nursing on June 22, Edwards agreed to the temporary suspension.

The state Board of Nursing falls under the state Division on Consumer Affairs. It is conducting a review of how its 51 professional boards — which oversee approximately 720,000 active licensed professionals, from accountants and doctors to plumbers and veterinarians — address allegations involving the sexual misconduct and abuse by licensees and applicants.

The review will include evaluations of whether boards should ask additional questions on license applications, how boards approach investigations and discipline, and how boards engage with complainants alleging sexual misconduct and abuse by a licensee or applicant.

"It’s an egregious abuse of trust when any licensee sexually preys on a patient or client, but it is especially heinous when the victim is an elderly individual under their care," Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. "The actions announced today underscore both the need for our professional boards to remain vigilant in protecting vulnerable patients, as well as the importance of the review they are presently undertaking to better protect victims and hold licensees accountable for their actions."

"We take all allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by licensees seriously, especially when they involve patients or clients in positions of vulnerability," said Paul R. Rodríguez, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. "It is to protect victims in cases like these that we are committed to undertaking this review of how professional and occupational licensing boards handle allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse."

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