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Nursing assistants arrested for abusing patients

October 8, 2011

Santa Barbara Police arrested two men who worked as nursing assistants at the Central Coast Nursing Center following allegations of elder abuse that include sexual battery. [KCLU]

Brian Michael Watt, 29, of Ventura, and Hugo Batalla Rendon, 32, of Santa Barbara were arrested in connection with separate incidents, prosecutors said. Watt is charged with three counts of elder abuse including sexual battery on an institutionalized victim stemming from a September 2010 incident. Rendon is facing four misdemeanor battery charges for acts that allegedly occurred in May of this year.

On August 25, 2011, following allegations of abuse from a volunteer who had visited residents of the facility for 28 years, the nursing home was no longer permitted to operate under its old license “because of serious violations related to quality of care and actual harm to patients,” according to the California Department of Public Health. [SantaBarbaraIndependent]

The residents weren’t turned out into the streets as Compass Health took over immediately. However, in line with the former owners following Edmund Finucane, 70, allegations of abuse, Compass Health is not permitting Finucane to visit residents of the nursing home as he has he has done for almost three decades, the Santa Barbara Independent said.


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Elder abuse has been a problem for a long time, especially when they are confined to a nursing home. The elderly do need advocates particularly when they have been declared incompetent and unable to make decisions for themselves. Many families have started using nanny cams disguised in a VCR that they will deliver to their family member. There was an HBO documentary not too long along about some of the egregious abuse that was a caught on video. Of course families who use nanny cams are already the patients advocates and generally visit daily, If what I saw on those video tapes can happen to a loved one who is visited daily, I hate to think want happens to those elderly who are alone without any family or loved ones living near by to visit regularly. Some never have visitors.


If they won’t allow My Funicane to visit any longer, then something there is very wrong, in my opinion. I would remove my loved one in a heart beat or as Mary would say, “in a New York second”.


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Dear Mr. Brian Michael Watt, 29, of Ventura, and Hugo Batalla Rendon, 32, of Santa Barbara


We have a job for you


Atascadero State Mental Hospital


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They should not be in charge of the care of any patient population–human, dog or other animal.


I think they’d do quite well as inmates in a regular prison population. I’m sure these granny molesters will be welcomed by their prison peers with open arms.


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I first want to start of by saying that I am completely against abuse of any kind to anybody or animal. Everytime I hear about something regarding to that I am disgusted that we humans have gone to that level. After reading this aritcle I want to make it clear that I am not defending or siding with the accused, but am sending out my sympathies for those who have suffered from abuse.

Before we go and start judging everybody about what we hear and start opening our mouths let us be sure that we know all of the facts clearly and that what the accused are actually being given a fair trail to talk, because it is one of our Admendments. As for that being said we also have freedom of sppech and I am a strong advocate for, but before we say anything we also have to think before we speak. How many people here are also thinking of the circumstances that surrounds this case besides those that are being stated in the papers? Based on some of these comments posted not many are thinking of other circumstances. Once agian let me remind you that I AM NOT defending or siding with the accused. In a nursing home many paitients go in for different reasons some may have illnesses or some go because they don’t have anymore family members..HOWEVER, those that do have family members are being put in a nursing home by a relative. It could be because these people do need to be there based on a recommendation from a doctor, but some are put there because a relative doesn’t want to have responsibility, what kind of people are those are they any better than people who abuse the ederly?

I do not mean or intend to hurt anyone with my opinion. I would just like for people to think before they act and speak if what they are saying makes sense and if they have sufficient grounds to say anything at all. before speaking make sure you know the facts right and not just those that you read. As for the people that posted above me are you any better than those accused above, what you are saying could be worse because that right there is verbal abuse. there are better ways to make your opinion known in an appropriate and professional matter. I understand it is freedom of speech but let us remind ourselves that we are human and should know better!


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So what exactly does Compass Health have to hide by prohibiting Mr. Finucane from being an advocate for the helpless residents who are subjected to lousy care every day of their lives. They would fare much better in prison than in these “professional care” facilities.


Compass Health needs to step up and provide better employees for the patients and improve their daily quality of life. They make a ton of money off these unfortunates and it seems like not much is put back into operations.


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This is why we have Adult Protective Services


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Adult Protective Services is worthless IMO.


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Not in this case….There were predators….and they did their business…Good for them..


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I didn’t read the link, perhaps I missing something. Did APS have anything to do with this case? I’ve spoke frequently in this forum about an investigation going on in my family right now. Our case involved elder abuse and Adult Protection Svs did nothing. It’s hard not to get into the details but it was a travesty, someone was killed and it could have been prevented if Adult Protection Services had been doing their job.


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You have mentioned this situation in your family several times. Last time you mentioned that somebody” killed his wife” and “it was obvious”. You always tell us that you can’t say anything after you mention it!


So far, I guess an elderly guy killed his wife who probably had Alzheimer’s or something? Just teasing but maybe you should just tell us enough to get it out of your system without giving away any details that aren’t already known to the perp. :)


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Well, I guess because I’m anonymous I can tell a bit more, I just don’t want to blow this case. This is an ongoing case but it’s not in this county. Sorry it’s a long story but I’ll try and give you the short version.


It involves a man (very very close family member) that was murdered not a woman. After his wife died he remarried a bimbo. The women that he remarried was a lot younger and she was a drug addict. She had taken advantage of older men before. Our family was warned by one of her victims that she was after our family member and that she was going to kill him. At that point she had already taken everything he had and sold it and she cleaned out his bank account so now she wanted to collect on the life insurance policies that she taken out on him. She attempted to murder our family member before but didn’t succeed. The hospital tried to keep him in as long as possible because they knew that she tried to kill him, it was very obvious. The family member wouldn’t let any of us interfere as she had him convinced that she loved him and that she was taking good care of him, he was old and an easy mark for her. We contacted Adult Protection Svs, the docs, nurses and some of us told APS that if he went back home that she would do him in. But because he could answer questions such as what year it what was, what his name was, where he lived etc. they said he was competent. But they did admit that they were concerned, after all the woman was in and out of prison her entire adult life and the family member had lost all of his assets because of her. So APS said that they would check on him once a week. We weren’t thrilled but it was better than nothing. Well, they never checked on him despite many calls from us. He alienated his family or should I say she convinced him to alienate us so all we could do was watch from the outside. The police and the neighbors kept the eye on their home and called us with updates. The neighbors called frequently telling us about the horrible people going in and out of the home. But again there was nothing we could do. A year after she tried to kill him, she finally succeeded. She overdosed him with HER drugs, he never ever took drugs or drank for that matter. He would still be alive today, although he was old he was pretty active. After she killed him the police had two more high profile murders and they didn’t want to bother with our case. But we kept bugging them. Then a new detective took over and now he has told us that the DA is going to pursue it. When we were bugging the old detective to pursue this he actually said ‘well, he was old’. There’s more to it but that’s the crust of it.


Perhaps you thought it was a woman because I also had a friend that was murdered by her husband, that was many years ago. He got off with out even a slap on the wrist and the evidence in that case was so very clear. She had a restraining order out on him and the neighbors saw him there that day, they saw his car there when she was screaming. He had a lot of money and that pretty much says it all for that one.


I have learned that it’s pretty easy to get away with murder in this country.


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