Lawsuit: Lewd photo of nursing home resident shared on Snapchat

Staff members at a Butler County nursing home allegedly took lewd photos of a resident suffering from dementia and shared the photo on multiple social media platforms, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit claims staff at Paramount Senior Living at Seven Fields took a photo of an 83-year-old woman referred to in the court filing by the initials “S.D.”

The photo, allegedly shared on Snapchat, showed the woman naked below the waist and sitting in a shower chair, according to the lawsuit filed by Robert N. Peirce III.

The photo showed the woman attempting to cover herself, the lawsuit claims, indicating she knew she was being recorded. The Snapchat was allegedly overlaid with a graphic that said “Winter Fail.”

The woman had lived there since 2014, according to the lawsuit, and the alleged incident happened Dec. 31.

The photo was further shared via Facebook Messenger with other Paramount staffers, according to the lawsuit.

“Inexplicably, despite this heinous photograph and/or video being shared with various members of (Paramount) staff … no staff member came forward” and reported the violation, according to the lawsuit, nor did anyone try to intervene when the photo was taken.

The photo came to light only after an anonymous tip was made to the Butler County Area on Aging, according to the lawsuit, and the woman’s family was unaware of the incident for three days.

The lawsuit further alleged Paramount officials hindered the county agency’s investigation by claiming the woman didn’t appear in the photo and, later, that the photo wasn’t shared publicly. The lawsuit said neither is true.

Chase Darmstadter, regional director of operations for Paramount, said the company disputes those characterizations.

“As soon as we were made aware of the incident, the employee was immediately suspended and then terminated,” Darmstadter said in a statement. “We are sickened by the actions of this employee and do not tolerate this behavior in our senior living communities.”

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and damages for pain and suffering and medical expenses as well as punitive damages.