PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A Daytona Beach caregiver faces charges Monday that she abused a disabled Port Orange boy, police said.
The boy's mother called police Friday to say she believes Julie Carter, 62, was abusing the 12-year-old boy, police said.
Carter works at Maxim Health Care and has been taking care of the boy for three years, police said.
The boy was diagnosed with COACH Syndrome and requires 24-hour supervision because he doesn’t speak, move on his own or care for himself, police said.
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The mother said that, while Carter was at the home Friday, she reviewed surveillance video and saw Carter strike, grab, kick and push the boy during a four-hour period, police said.
The video also showed Carter asleep while the boy was facedown on the floor next to her, police said. Another video showed Carter being rough while she changed his diaper. Several other videos showed Carter slap the boy several times, police said.
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Port Orange police interviewed Carter and she said she watches the boy for four hours Tuesday through Friday and every other Saturday and Monday, police said.
Investigators showed Carter the video of the alleged abuse and she said the boy was difficult throughout the night, but said she didn’t think she was being rough with him.
Carter faces charges of child abuse and battery.
The boy did not have any visible injuries, police said.
Carter told Eyewitness News by phone she has yet to speak with an attorney, so she would rather not say anything at this time.
Rebecca Kirkham, with Maxim Communications, said in a statement, "We are deeply troubled by these allegations. The employee, who has worked as a certified nursing assistant since May 2013, was immediately suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation. We will continue to lend our full cooperation to the local authorities as they investigate this matter.
"The care and safety of our patients is our highest priority and we take the trust they place in us very seriously. In accordance with our standard practices, a comprehensive background check was conducted on this employee before she was hired and there was nothing in these reports that gave us cause for concern."
Carter worked for Maxim for five years. She has been suspended.
A spokesperson with the Department of Health said in a statement regarding Carter's license, "Any time that we discover that a licensed practitioner has been arrested we monitor the situation for a conviction. We also look in to the actions that led to the arrest to see if there are any violations where the department has regulatory authority.
"I cannot say whether or not the Department receives a complaint or plans to take action against any practitioner until 10 days after probable cause is found. This is established by Florida Statute 456.073. If the Department receives a complaint and it rises to the level of probable cause being found, then I can provide that information. However, if the Department receives a complaint and does not find sufficient information (probable cause) to further investigate the complaint, then the complaint would never be public record."