Two former workers at the Beatrice State Development Center in Nebraska are going to prison for abusing residents.
A judge Wednesday sentenced Cameron Barnes of Fairbury to 2-4 years on two felony counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult to be served consecutively. Matthew Johnson of Beatrice was sentenced to consecutive 1-4 year prison terms on similar charges.
Attorneys for both men asked for probation. Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund sentenced them to prison, saying they had violated a trust to care for those who could not care for themselves.
Barnes and Johnson were among five workers fired and charged after an investigation last year found at least seven residents were routinely abused at the center for developmentally disabled adults.
