87-year-old villager convicted of attacking partner with dementia

An 87-year-old villager has been convicted of attacking his partner, who suffers from dementia, in a post office.

Sidney Soclof pleaded no contest last month in Sumter District Court to a charge of battery against a person 65 years old or older. In exchange for his plea, the false imprisonment charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to time already served.

Sidney Soclof was arrested in May after he allegedly attacked the woman at the coaching inn in the village of Summerhill.

He had been in a relationship with the 82-year-old woman he was accused of assaulting for more than a decade. They have lived together in Oregon and Florida.

On the day of his arrest, a 911 caller alerted the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office to the post office attack. An officer arrived at the post office and saw Soclof “hitting something inside the vehicle.” The officer ran over and handcuffed the Cleveland, Ohio native.

His long-time partner was covered in food, her clothes were covered in lettuce and tomatoes, and the right side of her face was smeared with mustard. There were “sandwich foods scattered throughout the vehicle” and “food smears on the passenger window.” The officer concluded that the woman had been banging on the window. The deputy noted the woman had “cognitive mental health issues” and later confirmed she was suffering from dementia.

After the attack she was taken to a memory care unit at The Willows in Oxford.