CHANDLER, Ariz. - A 22-year-old caregiver at a home for special needs children was arrested on three counts of child abuse.
According to court documents, on Dec. 16 Desmond Keelan Washington was giving a bath to a boy. A witness reportedly heard the boy screaming during the bath time and "what she described as a slap or a punch from the bathroom." She told police she heard Washington say something like "you don't like when I do that to you."
The witness told police she later noticed bruises and abrasions on the boy's pelvic area, as well as his back and ankle. He also had a bruise on his left knee, as well as in his groin area.
A second woman who works at the home said she bathed the boy the prior day and didn't see any of the injuries at that time.
Documents also state that Washington assaulted a 30-year-old man in a vulnerable adults home on Dec. 13, hitting his head on the wall of a shower. He also held the shower head directly over the man's face, making him struggle to breathe. Another caretaker told him to stop, but he continued, police records show.
The victim headbutted Washington, and records say Washington took the man to his room, telling another caretaker he "was about to really rough him up." He wrapped a towel around his fist and punched the victim in the chest and face, according to police. The victim suffered a black eye and a lip injury.
Police documents say Washington and the other caretaker falsified a report about the victim's injuries that night. The other caretaker came forward about the report a week later.
