Afoua Berthe Adzewoda, 47, of Austin was found guilty on Wednesday by a jury in Mower County District Court of gross misdemeanor criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult, gross misdemeanor fourth-degree assault of a vulnerable adult and misdemeanor fifth-degree assault-infliction of bodily harm.

Adzewoda was charged in October for the incident, which took place on Aug. 10. At the time she was working at The Cedars of Austin.

The Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center contacted the Austin Police Department on Aug. 15 regarding the maltreatment of a vulnerable adult with dementia.

An internal investigation by the Cedars showed the incident was witnessed by another employee. The report included images of large bruises on the victim’s arm.

A staff member said she heard someone screaming, “Help me! Help me!” and saw Adzewoda push the victim into the shower. She said Adzewoda rubbed soap into the victim’s face and sprayed it with water for two minutes while the victim screamed and tried to grab Adzewoda’s nametag to identify her. She said Adzewoda slapped the victim’s hand three times. She also told police she told Adzewoda to stop several times, but she did not comply. She said she separated Adzewoda from the victim and went to find a supervisor.

A detective attempted to interview the victim, but because of the advanced state of her dementia, she did not recall the incident. The detective did notice her bruises, as well as a bruise on her shoulder that had not been documented.

All of the bruises appeared to be the same age and were fading.

In Minnesota, gross misdemeanor criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult and gross misdemeanor fourth-degree assault of a vulnerable adult carry maximum penalties of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. Misdemeanor fifth-degree assault-infliction of bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Adzewoda will be sentenced July 12.