THOMASVILLE — A former home care operator was sentenced Friday morning for charges brought forth after a 2013 raid of a former Cassidy Road assisted living facility. 

Earnestine Yates was sentenced to 15 years, with five years of jail time and 10 years probation. Yates also is barred from contacting any former resident of Breakthrough Independent Living Home and she cannot operate a personal care home in Georgia.  

Judge Harry Jay Altman, who handed down the sentence, said Yates’ actions were “equally unconscionable.”

Yates said at the Friday sentencing she “never mistreated” the reported 18 residents living at the facility at the time. 

“They had food, it was good food. They never went hungry,” she said. 

Following the August 2013 raid, Yates faced a total of 35 charges, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. 

Yates, in a blind plea with the district attorney’s office, pled guilty to conspiracy to exploit a disabled person, two charges of abuse of a disabled person and operating an unlicensed facility, according to the GBI.  

The sentences for her main charges will run concurrently. 

WALB-TV, a Thomasville Times-Enterprise news partner, contributed to this report. 

Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.