[Warning: Contains footage some may find disturbing.] A caregiver at a group home in Columbia was arrested for allegedly attacking a disabled man and encouraging another resident to join in and fight while someone recorded it.
A house manager at a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities has been charged with multiple counts of assault and reckless endangerment for abusing a male resident of the home.
The alleged abuse surfaced in a YouTube video.
Donna Everett, 57, of Cervidae Lane in Randallstown, also was charged by Howard County Police with endangering the safety of a 41-year-old-woman who was a resident in the home.
Everett, the house manager at an Emerge, Inc. group home in Columbia, Md., was identified as the person on the YouTube video shown apparently striking the man, 53, in the head, face and neck, and spitting in the man’s face, police said.
She is also shown apparently encouraging the female resident to assist in the abuse of the man, police said. Laughing can also be heard in the background as the man tried to defend himself.
Someone off camera can be heard saying, "I should have brought some premium popcorn. We could all sit here like it's a movie."
Someone also said, "You are recording this for entertainment, right?"
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Police are working to identify those who made the video.
Emerge, Inc. is a non-profit organization that serves "individuals with developmental, physical and mental health disabilities," police said.
Everett posted a $100,000 bond and was released from the Howard County Detention Center.
Due to the graphic nature, YouTube requires viewers to confirm their age when viewing the video. Warning: this video contains graphic violence and language.
