Prosecutors are deciding whether to press charges against two men arrested on suspicion of abusing a vulnerable elderly woman, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

The pair have been questioned and bailed by Police in connection with the senior, known as Miss C, and a file has been passed to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), this newspaper has discovered. It is understood that a decision from the DPP on whether to take the men to court is imminent. Prosecutors will need to determine whether charges can be brought under the Senior Abuse Register Act 2008. Abusers prosecuted under the new law can face a $10,000 fine, three years in jail or both if convicted. The Royal Gazette revealed last October that the men were being investigated after allegations that they moved into the home of the 76-year-old woman — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — and abused her.

It was feared that Miss C, who is understood to have learning difficulties, suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her alleged tormentors, as well as financial exploitation.

Questions were raised at the time about how long the authorities knew about the woman's situation before intervening.

Dale Butler, then the Cabinet Minister responsible for seniors, said there were claims of financial mismanagement, physical abuse and "even other questions with regard to sexual abuse".

He told us that the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged (NOSPC) obtained a temporary protection order from a judge banning the two men from the woman's home after the case was referred to the Attorney General's Chambers at his insistence.

Opposition MP Louise Jackson was also involved in the case, making complaints to the NOSPC and Police after she was first made aware of the woman's situation in summer 2007, and again last year.

Miss C is now in a residential home and Government, which has been funding the costs since last year, is to ask the Supreme Court to appoint a receiver so her bank accounts can be accessed in order to pay for her care. NOSPC acting manager John Payne said yesterday: "The National Office has no comment on this matter as it is sub judice." Police did not respond to a request for comment.