A Sydney nursing assistant who struck an elderly dementia patient with her own rubbish has been sentenced to at least six months in jail but could serve the sentence by way of home detention. Dane Maree Gray, 59, had pleaded guilty to assaulting the vulnerable and “entirely dependent” then-85-year-old woman at The Poplars nursing home in North Epping in August 2017. Magistrate Robyn Denes in Burwood Local Court today sentenced Gray to 17 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months, but adjourned the matter until September 20 to assess her eligibility for home detention.
