LEAKESVILLE, Miss. (WKRG) – A former Leakesville nursing home employee was arrested this month, one year after he was accused of abusing a nursing home resident.

A Greene County indictment alleges Joseph Cone, 40, unlawfully touched a resident of the Leakesville Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on or about July 31, 2021.

The State Attorney General’s Office said Cone was a food service worker in the facility at the time of the alleged crime.

He is charged with one count of Fondling of Vulnerable Person, a crime under the Mississippi Vulnerable Adults Act.

Cone was arrested on Dec. 9 after the indictment. He has since been released from the Greene County Jail on a $10,000 bond. He is due back for arraignment in the Greene County Circuit Court on Feb. 21.

If convicted, Cone could face up to 15 years in prison and $5,000 fines.

The Mississippi State Department of Health does not show any complaint investigations conducted in 2021 and no serious deficiencies or substantiated complaints in 2022 for the nursing home.