A Rochester man made his initial appearance Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court, where he's accused of slapping a 90-year-old woman in his care.
Douglas Geoffrey Kolb, 33, has been charged with one count of fourth-degree assault of a vulnerable adult, a gross misdemeanor, and two counts of misdemeanor fifth-degree assault. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court Aug. 23.
The investigation began Feb. 29, when a man called Rochester police about an assault. He said his 90-year-old mother, who lives at Samaritan Bethany Home, told him a male nurse had slapped her in the face the night before.
The woman said the nurse who responded — later identified as Kolb — was upset because she pushed her call button repeatedly. The nurse "shushed" the victim, the complaint says, and slapped her once or twice on the right side of her face with an open hand.
The next morning she called her son, told him of the incident and said she was afraid of the nurse. Her right eye was sore; the woman believed Kolb's finger may have poked her in the eye when she was slapped, court documents say.
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The son said his mother does not have any issues with memory loss.
The victim's eye was watering and leaking mucus, another nurse told investigators, which was unusual.
Kolb acknowledged he'd responded to the woman's room several times, and helped her into the bathroom. He said he may have adjusted her oxygen tube, but denied slapping her.
