A former nursing home worker has been given two to five years’ probation for abusing a nursing home resident. 61 year old Michael Kane, of Westgate, pleaded guilty Friday in Black Hawk County District Court to a count of dependent adult abuse with injury, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. In exchange for his plea, Kane was granted a deferred judgment, which means the offense will come off his record if he successfully completes his probation. Kane had no prior criminal record, and the victim has since died of unrelated causes. Prosecutors said that would have made going to trial difficult. Kane had worked at Ravenwood Specialty Care in Waterloo, and investigators said that in June 2018, he pinched a resident’s nipples, punched him in the stomach, attempted to suffocate the patient and threatened to shoot him. State nursing board records show Kane surrendered his license in December 2018.
