WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas nurse convicted of enslaving mentally ill residents of a Newton group home was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday after a federal judge acknowledged the original seven-year term was too short.
Linda Kaufman and her husband, Arlan, were convicted in November 2006 of forcing residents to work naked and perform sex acts, while billing the government and their families for “nude therapy” sessions.
A federal appeals court upheld the convictions but sent Linda Kaufman’s case back to U.S. District Judge Monti Belot to reconsider her seven-year sentence. Her social worker husband was sentenced to 30 years.
Trial testimony had indicated a stun gun was used on a resident’s genitals. Belot found while reconsidering sentencing that it should be considered a dangerous weapon. He also found that a large number of residents were vulnerable victims and added time for obstruction of justice.
“I appreciate being given the opportunity to consider a new and appropriate sentence for defendant,” Belot said Monday.
Nancy Jensen, a 53-year-old Wichita woman who was a resident at the home for 11 months in 1986, said she felt vindicated after Monday’s sentencing and hugged Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway.
