'I was enraged': Family uses hidden camera to capture abuse of disabled loved one
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Two former employees of a Massachusetts group home are accused of battering and abusing a cognitively disabled adult, according to police.
Chelmsford police Chief James Spinney said the victim was a nonverbal 50-year-old resident of the group home, which is on Harding Street.
Daniel Maina, 41, of Tyngsborough, and Jennifer Nganga, 60, of Lowell, were arrested and charged with assault and battery on a person with disabilities, and abuse by a caretaker.
They were arraigned Wednesday in Lowell District Court and released on $1,000 cash bail.
"The investigation showed a clear pattern of physical abuse against a victim who could not defend himself or report his abuse at the hands of the very people charged with his care and well-being," Spinney said.
The victim's family first contacted police about possible abuse in October after claims that a fall resulted in lacerations to the man's face and a broken neck. At that time, police were unable to determine whether and assault or abuse had taken place.
When the victim returned to the group home in January after recovering, the family installed a camera in his room. Police said the camera captured multiple instances when two different staffers, later identified as Nganga and Maina, were seen assaulting and striking the victim in the head.
The group home is operated by Northeast Residential Services. The pair are no longer employed by the facility.