![Case Tests New Law Protecting Vulnerable Adults](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2013/09/court-gavel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Case Tests New Law Protecting Vulnerable Adults
ANOKA, Minn. (AP) - A case filed this month is one of the first under a revised Minnesota law that allows people accused of willfully neglecting vulnerable adults to be charged with felonies.
A criminal complaint filed in Anoka County alleges 54-year-old Dawn Kulbeik sat by as her 87-year-old mother's health deteriorated, leading to complications that killed her.
Reports say she's only the second person charged with felony neglect of a vulnerable adult under the revised statute. There has yet to be a conviction.
Kimberly Dayton, a professor at the William Mitchell College of Law, says the first few prosecutions are going to be very important and could be precedent-setting.
Until last year, the worst charge a Minnesotan could face for neglecting a vulnerable adult was a gross misdemeanor.
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