A former certified nurse's aide at a Cherry Hill nursing home has pleaded guilty to spraying bleach directly into the face and eyes of an elderly, paralyzed resident, admitting to an attack that prosecutors say was entirely intentional. Simone Goldsboro, 37, of Camden entered her plea to third-degree aggravated assault and fourth-degree assault upon an institutionalized elderly person, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
The assault happened on Aug. 17, 2023, at Avista Healthcare Nursing Home in Cherry Hill, where Goldsboro worked as a licensed certified nurse's aide, according to InsiderNJ. The resident, identified only by the initials D.S., was older than 60 and had been left paralyzed on one side of her body following a stroke, per Shore News Network. That outlet reports Goldsboro left the resident's room, walked to a custodian's cart, and grabbed a spray bottle containing bleach before returning to intentionally spray it at the resident, including into her face and eyes. As NBC10 Philadelphia reported, Goldsboro attacked the elderly resident with cleaning bleach while working at the Camden County facility.
Prosecutors Push for Jail Time and Loss of License
As part of the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Goldsboro serve 364 days in Camden County Jail and permanently forfeit her certified nurse's aide license, according to the same InsiderNJ release. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 30, 2026. The case was handled through New Jersey's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit within the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, the state's account notes.
The prosecution is described by Shore News Network as the third recent New Jersey guilty plea tied to alleged abuse inside care facilities for elderly residents. The same report points to two other cases: licensed practical nurse Lisa L. Erikson, 57, pleaded guilty after admitting she pepper-sprayed an elderly dementia patient at a Whiting rehabilitation and nursing center, and former nursing director Patricia Lindo-Ahono, 60, admitted striking a 77-year-old rehabilitation center resident with a broom during a June 2023 assault.
Case Adds to Scrutiny of Elder Care Facilities
The Goldsboro case underscores ongoing concerns about the treatment of vulnerable residents in New Jersey long-term care settings, where staff are entrusted with the safety of people who often cannot defend or advocate for themselves. The resident attacked at Avista Healthcare had already lost the use of one side of her body to a stroke before being sprayed with a caustic cleaning chemical by the person tasked with her care, according to Shore News Network's reporting on the incident.
Coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer also detailed the guilty plea entered by the Camden woman in the Cherry Hill nursing home case. With sentencing still weeks away, the final terms of Goldsboro's punishment, including whether the recommended jail term and license forfeiture are formally imposed, remain to be determined by the court in late October.
