Police: Men assaulted residential facility client

Jan. 04--SCOTIA -- Three employees of a Living Resources residential facility are facing charges that accuse them of abusing an autistic client, according to Scotia police.

The men were providing services for a 23-year-old client on Dec. 12 at 11 Garnet Lane when the abuse occurred, police said.

Tayvon Taylor, 23, of 8 Grove Place; Jariem Harris, 24, of 4260 Queen Philomena Blvd., and Maleke Robinson, 30, of 1315 Lower Broadway, now face charges that accuse them of assaulting the client after he slammed a female residential facility employee's head into a door during a behavioral outburst, police said.

Taylor was charged with second-degree attempted assault and first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent adult, both felonies, and the misdemeanors of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree menacing, as well as second-degree harassment, a violation, police said.

Harris and Robinson were each charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, police said.

A joint investigation by Scotia police and the state Justice Center revealed Taylor was the boyfriend of the female employee whose head was slammed into a door, police said.

Taylor, Harris and Robinson then took the autistic man upstairs to his bedroom where Taylor hit the man on his bare upper body and neck several times with the belt, causing marks, police said.

The house manager was reportedly not informed of the incident until Dec. 14, which is when he contacted the police, according to the police report.

Living Resources Executive Director Fred Erlich, in a prepared statement, said Thursday that Living Resources suspended all three men upon learning of the allegations in December, and the organization is cooperating with the investigation.

All three men were arraigned in Village Court and were sent to Schenectady County jail on $5,000 cash bail, police said.

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