Bartlett woman pleads not guilty to taping patient at South Barrington memory care facility

A former employee of Encore Memory Care who authorities say unlawfully recorded residents at the South Barrington facility while they were naked, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.

Madison Russo, 25, of Bartlett is charged with disseminating unlawful videos, making videos without an individual’s consent and videotaping a person under or through his/her clothing without consent, court records show.

Police say at least three residents were unlawfully recorded between January and July. One, retired insurance salesman Bernard “Skip” Fisher, 72, was recorded naked in his bed, authorities allege. Another resident was recorded in the shower and a third was recorded using the toilet, according to authorities.

The videos were recorded using Snapchat and shared with other Encore employees in a group chat titled “Traitors and Besties,” according to police. Police were notified after two employees reported the taping to the facility director in June, authorities said.

Encore subsequently terminated six employees, including Russo. Representatives from Encore Memory Care did not respond to a request for comment.

Attorneys representing Fisher's wife, Kristen Fisher, say Encore administrators learned of the videotaping on June 25 but did not notify Fisher’s family until July 17.

Fisher, who had Parkinson’s disease, lived at the facility for three years. He died in July, five days after his wife learned about the recording, according to her attorney.

Margaret Battersby Black, managing partner at Levin & Perconti, the law firm representing Fisher's family, said more than one “bad actor” was involved in this “sickening crime.”

“Multiple employees allegedly participated by viewing the videos. There are other victims, too, and perhaps more we are not aware of yet,” Black said in a prepared statement.

Skip Fisher “was aware of what was happening but was nonverbal and unable to communicate the abuse,” Black continued. “His family also was not notified promptly. This raises serious questions about supervision and accountability.”

Kristen Fisher said in a prepared statement that she selected Encore Memory Care because it was a private facility which she believed had “an attentive, well-trained staff.”

“My husband and other residents are so vulnerable. The fact that so many caregivers were involved is devastating because we trusted them,” Kristen Fisher said. “The sense of betrayal, shock and disgust is overwhelming. It immobilizes my every thought, especially thinking about how my husband suffered this degrading abuse in silence during the final months of his life.”

Russo next appears in court on Oct. 2.

bvitello@dailyherald.com