Certified nursing aide Mark Genetiano, 26, was sentenced to a year in prison and five years of probation yesterday for molesting four helpless elderly women in a retirement home.

Genetiano apologized for his conduct in a hearing before Circuit Judge Karen Ahn.

"I wish to apologize to all concerned ... for my inappropriate behavior," Genetiano said. "I deeply regret what happened."

Genetiano earlier pleaded guilty to six counts of third-degree sex assault, admitting that he assaulted two of the victims twice while working at the Kāhala Nui retirement home.

The victims ranged in age from 89 to 92 when the crimes took place in May and June of last year. All four women suffered from Alzheimer's disease or dementia and were "mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless," prosecutors said.

Deputy Prosecutor Scott Spallina called Genetiano's crimes "callous" and said they hurt not only the victims but their family members as well.

"In one sense, the whole nursing home community has been a victim of this crime," Spallina said.

According to a police report, three of Genetiano's co-workers reported that he pinched the patients' breasts while they were changing clothes or in the bathroom. The co-workers said the women tried to fend him off by waving their arms and yelling at him to stop and that Genetiano laughed at them, the affidavit said.

He is forbidden from working in a retirement facility or nursing or care home while he is on probation. As a registered sex offender, Genetiano is unlikely to ever find such work again, Spallina said.

Ahn ordered Genetiano to pay $630 in victim compensation fees as well as other court costs.