Man gets prison for abuse at care home

Assaults occurred in Beaver Co. facility

A Beaver County man will spend at least 10 years in prison for abusing special needs patients in his care.

Zachary Dinell, 26, pleaded guilty to 29 counts in February, including 13 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person, 14 counts of invasion of privacy, endangering the welfare of children, and criminal use of a communication facility.

He was sentenced Monday by Beaver County Common Pleas Judge Dale M. Fouse.

Dinell was fired from his position at McGuire Memorial in Daugherty after the allegations against him came to light. The facility, a ministry of the Felician Sisters of North America, has served people with physical and developmental disabilities since 1963.

Dinell was accused of assaulting residents, taking photos and videos of them nude; punching and kicking them; throwing objects at their heads; rubbing unknown substances in their eyes; and choking a patient.

An affidavit of probable cause for the initial charges in the case said police found “obscene and pornographic images” of people with mental and physical disabilities on Dinell’s phone.

Police said the defendant also sent a picture of a nude 19-year-old patient to a co-worker via Snapchat.

Another former caretaker also has been charged. Tyler Smith, 30, of

Cranberry, is scheduled for a pretrial conference July 6 with Judge Kim Tesla.

The patients, who all have special needs, were noncommunicative, said Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier.

He would not release any of the victim-impact statements that were prepared for the sentencing hearing.

In addition to the 10- to 31-year prison term, Dinell must also undergo sex offender treatment and register for the rest of his life as a sex offender.