John Roy Jenkins, a 69-year-old former home healthcare nurse arrested in February on accusations that he repeatedly brutalized a disabled and voiceless client in Palm Coast, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday following an open plea before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols at the Flagler County courthouse.
Jenkins and the company he worked for, Maxim Healthcare Services of Daytona Beach, also face a civil lawsuit charging negligence and seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
An open plea is an admission to the crimes that leaves the sentence up to the judge.
Jenkins faced four counts of abuse of an elderly or disabled person, each a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, for a maximum potential exposure of 20 years. His sentencing guideline scoresheet had him at a minimum of 46.8 months, or almost four years. The severity of the sentence was a reflection of the severity of the abuse.
Jenkins verbally, physically and psychologically abused the client in his charge, J.S., a man in his 20s who suffers from stage two mitochondrial myopathy, a neuromuscular, incapacitating disease. Jenkins frequently beat the client with an iPad, insulted and demeaned him. (See: “John R. Jenkins, Home Health Care Nurse, Arrested After Footage Shows Him Brutalizing Disabled, Voiceless Man.”)
Jenkins, then an employee of Maxim Healthcare in Daytona Beach, had become one of the client’s nurses in March 2023. The abuse was reported to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office last February. Much of it was recorded on interior video surveillance, though footage was available only from Feb. 1 onward. It was never established whether or to what extent Jenkins may have abused the client before February.
Nichols sentenced him to five years in prison for each of the first two counts, to be served concurrently, and sentenced him to two years in prison on the third count, to be served consecutively to the first two counts, thus adding two years to the sentence. She sentenced him to two years on the fourth count as well, to be served concurrently with the third count.
Jenkins had been out on $40,000 bond. His bond was revoked after sentencing and he was returned to the Flagler County jail pending transfer to the state prison system.
The case was investigated by Flagler County Sheriff’s detective Kathryn Gordon and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Tara Libby. Jenkins was defended by attorney David Shekhter.
Last October, Tomora Skinner, J.S.’s guardian, filed suit in Circuit Court against Jenkins and his former company, charging that Jenkins abused J.S. between January 2023 and February 2025. Since then, the suit charges, J.S. “has suffered mental anguish, anxiety, emotional distress, humiliation, inability to concentrate, insecurity, flashbacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, depression and/or additional psychiatric or psychological injuries which are continuing and permanent in nature causing him to seek treatment and incur costs for same.”
The suit charges a count of battery action against Jenkins and two counts of negligence against Maxim Healthcare for allegedly lacking proper protocols to prevent the abuse.
Arnold says
Wow! Almost the same amount of time as young, mentally disabled Brendan Depa. Just love how justice is meted out equally. NOT!
Joe D says
Who does the BACKGROUND CHECKS on these people? Is this person a Certified Nursing Assistant, a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Registered Nurse? Many people use the terms interchangeably.
The ABUSE is the same regardless, but the level of training and PROFESSIONAL licensure is vastly different. CNA has 6 months approximately of training in a classroom and supervised clinical time with patients, and must pass a written test. An LPN has usually I year of clinical training and works under the supervision of a Registered Nurse, and must pass a licensure exam. A Registered Nurse has 2-4 years College Nursing training (for either an AD or BSN degree in nursing), and must pass a national License Exam.
What frightens me as a Master’s prepared Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nurse Case manager, now retired, who has supervised multiple Nursing staff over 43 years, What happened with this client BEFORE the cameras were installed? And were there similar issues in the past with other clients, that have yet to come to light. It is highly doubtful this “nurse” suddenly became violent and abusive with only this client.
Having the responsibility to care for an individual in their private homes, requires a HIGH level of public trust. This individual appears to have violated the public trust in the most violent way. This wasn’t simply some RANDOM INDIVIDUAL, who broke into the person’s home and assaulted them!