Police: Caregiver caught on camera pushing, shoving disabled child
A Port Orange caregiver was caught on home surveillance footage pushing, kicking and dragging a wheelchair-bound child several times over four hours, police said.
Julie Carter, 62, said she didn’t remember hurting the 12-year-old disabled child she was hired to care for after police showed her six videos from the home.
The boy’s mother called police Friday after watching the footage of Carter’s four-hour shift Thursday evening. Carter worked for the mother about three years and was employed through Maxim Health Care, according to a police report. The child is diagnosed with Coach Syndrome. He can’t speak and has limited mobility.
In one video, the boy is seen reaching for a bowl of food in Carter’s hand as they sit on a couch. Carter then puts the bowl down and smacks the boy twice across his face and head, according to the police report. About 10 minutes later, Carter pushes the boy off the couch to the ground where his head hits the leg of a piece of furniture, the report states. The boy is seen struggling to get up and reaches for Carter as she sits on the couch.
In another video, Carter drags the boy in a walker while he’s improperly strapped, according to the report. His neck is pushed upward, putting pressure on his windpipe, the report states.
“[His mother] describes this position as being very painful to [him], and has the possibility of blocking his windpipe,” Officer Diego Munoz wrote in his report.
Police notified Maxim Health Care and the state Department of Children and Families. Carter was charged with battery and child abuse. She was taken to the Volusia County Jail, where she has since been released on bond.
Carter has been a certified nursing assistant since May 2013, said Rebecca Kirkham, a spokeswoman with Maxim Health Care. Carter was suspended pending the police investigation outcome, Kirkham said.
Kirkham said a comprehensive background check was conducted before Carter’s hire, and nothing gave Maxim Health Care cause for concern.