Caregiver Guilty of Assault on Vulnerable Adult in Baltimore County Chimes, Inc. Employee struck special needs client during park visit

BALTIMORE, MD ( Jan. 11, 2012) – Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Angel Luyanda, 48, of Baltimore City, was convicted in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County of one count of Assault in the Second Degree. The Honorable Sherrie R. Bailey sentenced Luyanda to three years in the Division of Corrections, all of which was suspended. Luyanda was placed on supervised probation for three years and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. He is prohibited from working with vulnerable adults while on probation to the Court.

“Violence against a vulnerable special needs child or adult who’s been placed in the care of others will not be tolerated in Maryland,” said Attorney General Gansler. “It’s reassuring to know that another caregiver did the right thing and stepped forward to report this appalling assault.”

The charge arises out of an incident that occurred in Honeygo Park in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County on August 20, 2010. The victim was a 26-year-old vulnerable adult who was a client of Chimes, Inc., an organization that services citizens with developmental disabilities and other special needs. Luyanda was serving as an employee who was assisting the male victim at the time of the incident.

The defendant admitted in court that he had punched the victim in the stomach when the young man had become agitated due to the heat. The victim is unable to verbally communicate to others and was visibly upset immediately before being punched. A second employee witnessed the assault and reported it to supervisors upon returning to the Chimes facility on Kelso Drive in Middle River.

The Attorney General wishes to thank Assistant Attorney General Stephen Roscher, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Investigator John Bettinger, and the Maryland State Police for their work on this case.

Media Contact:
David Paulson, 410-576-6357
dpaulson@oag.state.md.us