Jessica Kelly told police she wanted to take a picture of the man's skinny legs.
PALMER – A 21-year-old Chicopee woman denied charges Wednesday in Palmer District Court that she took a photograph of a partially nude elderly man whom she was caring for and then sent it to nine people.
Jessica Kelly, of 263 Grove St., was charged by Palmer police with taking a photograph of an unsuspecting nude person and disseminating it after the incident at her former employer, Wing Memorial Hospital. She has since been terminated from her per-diem position as a patient safety companion there.
According to a narrative submitted by Palmer Detective Sgt. Scott E. Haley included in the court file, the picture was taken of an elderly man in the hospital’s dementia unit and showed his legs and part of his genitals. Haley’s narrative stated that Kelly intended to take a picture of the man’s “skinny legs” and send it to her mother’s cell phone, but she mistakenly sent it to nine people. It also stated that she didn’t think the man knew that she had taken the picture.
Kelly told police that she had no intention to spread the picture or demean the man, as she cared about her job and patients. She told police she wanted to take a picture of his skinny legs, the narrative stated.
Kelly started working for Wing in January; the incident was in February.
She will return to court on May 25 for a pretrial conference. The disseminating charge is a felony and carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison, or 3 ½ years in the House of Correction, and/or a fine up to $10,000.