5 NJ residents sentenced for endangering disabled adults

Five former employees of Broadway Respite and Home Care have been convicted and sentenced for offenses involving the abuse of two individuals who attended the daycare facility for adults in Paterson.

The facility, meanwhile, remains subject to court-ordered monitoring and has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and improve the training of its employees.

Kenitra Hicks, 36, of New Brunswick, Hugo Lorenzo, 27, of North Brunswick, and Janella Allen, 32, of Elizabeth, physically abused two severely disabled adults at the facility in May 2019, an investigation found.

On July 21 of this year, the three defendants were sentenced to probation and/or fines. On the same date, Kieasha Morgan, 25, of New Brunswick, was sentenced to one year of probation — she had pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly persons failure to report abuse.

On July 23, Asia Lunn, 24, of New Brunswick, was convicted and handed the harshest sentence — five years of probation, 180 days in jail, and a $1,000 fine. She had been charged with one count of third-degree abandonment and neglect of a disabled person.

The defendants were arrested and charged in 2019 following an investigation by authorities from East Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Contact reporter Dino Flammia at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com.