Is the world a safe place for elderly women and seniors over 65? Not with guys like Jack Rhodes around – a man convicted on 13th October, 2009 for assaulting and mugging three defenseless aged women, one of whom was no less than a 101 years!

New York City is no stranger to burglaries, thefts and mugging. However, the case of Jack Rhodes stands out as an outright violation of the New York State Hate Crimes Act of 2000, that have been put in place to render harsher sentences for those assaulting elderly people, taking advantage of their age and loss of strength and agility.

Rhodes, who is no tipsy teenager himself, being 47, can get a sentence of up to 90 years in prison for charges that account for burglary, robbery and assault.

Morat, 101, was attacked and assaulted by Rhodes two years back. She was hit in the face and lost her walker, falling face down on the concrete pavement. Surveillance camera records proved it was Rhodes, and a background check by the police revealed more similar assaults on elderly women. Solange Elizee, 81 was attacked only about 30 minutes after the Morat mugging, and another aged woman, Angela Khan, then 51 had been hit and robbed by the same assailant a year back.

Commenting on Rhodes’ conviction, Richard Brown, the Queens’ District Attorney quipped, “The defendant’s propensity to savagely accost elderly and defenseless women, two of whom need the aide of a walker to get around, was rightly condemned by today’s guilty verdict”.

However, to avoid such incidents from happening over and over again, not only police surveillance, but easy-to-use mobile phones can also come in handy for elderly people, especially, to solicit help while or after being mugged or assaulted.