Police: Staff member at group home used shower curtain rod to attack 22-year-old with autism

SHARON, Mass. — A staff member at a home for adults with developmental disabilities is accused of abusing a 22-year-old, according to Sharon police.

Other staff members at the Charles River Center reported the incident, which took place on April 18, to police.

Police say Patricia Afriyie-Yeboah, 32, attacked the 22-year-old with a shower curtain pole. Investigators say the 22-year-old was not seriously injured.

Video of the alleged incident shows the victim, who is also non-verbal, "cowering in the corner of a room" while Yeboah stands over him with the pole.

In a written statement The Charles River Center told us it conducts a “rigorous background check of all employees and provides extensive training in caring for individuals with developmental disabilities" and that "this is a difficult situation and our entire organization is saddened by it."

Yeboah has been fired since her arrest.

The Disabled Persons Protection Commission, the state agency that monitors disability abuse said many times the victims don't know what's going on.  State police are assigned to their unit.

"Every time a report is called in to our hotline it is reviewed by the state police detective unit to determine if it there is element of a crime,” Executive Director Nancy Alteiro said.

Yeboah  has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a disabled person.

Cox Media Group