Coram, NY - June 30, 2017 - Suffolk County Police on Friday, June 30, 2017 at 7:20 a.m. arrested a nurse for assaulting a paraplegic man she was caring for at his Coram home last week.
Areatha Pickens, a licensed practical nurse, was caring for an 83-year-old man and Korean War veteran who became paraplegic in a 1975 motor vehicle crash, when she assaulted the man who was confined to a stretcher on June 22. Pickens punched the man several times after the victim notified Pickens employer that she was late for work. The victim was treated at Stony Brook University Hospital for a fractured orbital bone.
Sixth Squad detectives charged Pickens, 44, of Coram, with Assault 2nd Degree. She is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.