WASHINGTON – A local man was charged with causing abuse to his mother after she had to be treated for severe wounds.

Around 3 a.m. last Friday, a Montgomery County Fire & Rescue crew was called to a home on Beech Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland for a sick patient. An 87-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for medical treatment, and Montgomery County Adult Protective Services was notified that the woman showed signs of possible neglect and abuse.

Medical personnel told police the victim had wounds on her backside and legs that were packed with newspaper and a powdery substance.  When the newspaper was removed, the woman’s spine was visible, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. Compression socks had to be surgically removed, because police say they had become fused to her feet.

Investigators learned that 57-year-old James Kirkland was primary caretaker of the woman, who is his mother. Police located Kirkland at the Beech Avenue home, and found it was not being maintained.

Kirkland was charged with causing abuse that resulted in serious physical injury to his mother, who is a vulnerable adult – which is a felony – and causing abuse to his mother in the role of a caregiver, a misdemeanor.

Kirkland was released on bond. Police say the victim remains in the hospital in very serious condition.