EVANSTON — An Evanston woman entered not guilty pleas in Third District Court on Friday, May 17, to one count of abuse, neglect, abandonment or exploitation of a vulnerable adult and five counts of domestic battery. Meranda Lovato was arraigned on the charges filed following events that allegedly occurred March 6-7 of this year. 

According to court documents, Lovato’s daughter-in-law, Amanda Sattley, was staying with Lovato and Lovato’s husband in Evanston. Sattley takes multiple medications and requires the use of a wheelchair following a leg amputation. 

An affidavit filed in the case indicated Sattley and Lovato got into a verbal argument over Sattley’s demands and refusal to care for herself. The argument allegedly progressed to a physical confrontation, during which Lovato allegedly dragged Sattley by the hair, kicked and pushed her, threw boiling water on her and poured some type of cleaning chemical on her. 

Lovato and her husband then allegedly drove Sattley to Colorado to stay with caregivers there, who reportedly took photographs of Sattley’s injuries and took her to a hospital in Grand Junction for evaluation. According to the affidavit, medical records from Community Hospital in Grand Junction documented some first-degree thermal burns, as well as contusions to Sattley’s abdomen, face and other areas. 

When interviewed by Evanston Police Department officers, Lovato denied assaulting Sattley and said Sattley was not injured while in Evanston or on the drive to Grand Junction. 

Following Lovato’s not guilty pleas, Third District Court Judge Joseph Bluemel scheduled a three-day trial to begin on Sept. 5. 

If found guilty, Lovato faces the possibility of 10 years of imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both for the felony abuse of a vulnerable adult charge. Each of the misdemeanor domestic battery charges carries the possibility of six months incarceration, a $750 fine or both.