East Hartford police have made a second arrest in cases of alleged abuse at a group home.
Police started investigating on July 10, 2012 when video surfaced, showing what appeared to be an attack on a developmentally disabled resident at a King Street group home managed by Options Unlimited, Inc.
On July 12, Angelica Rivera, a former employee of a group home, was arrested. Police said video showed her kicking the woman in the stomach and dragging her by the hair.
Investigators said Rivera admitted to being the worker seen in the video and led them to a co-worker's home on Tolland Street, where detectives seized a computer and sent it to the state forensics lab to be analyzed.
Police have since arrested Stephanie Jones, 43, of East Hartford.
She was the assistant manager at the time the abuse occurred and became a suspect, police said.
Witnesses told police that Jones knew about the abuse occurring at the group home and had video recordings of staff abusing the residents saved to electronic devices at her Tolland Street home in East Hartford.
Last year, police seized video recordings from Jones’ home.
On Tuesday, she was arrested on a warrant for inciting injury to persons for two separate incidents.
She has been released on two $25,000 non-surety bonds.
Options Unlimited is contracted by the State of Connecticut and the commissioner of the state Department of Developmental Services called this one of the worst cases of abuse he has ever seen.
Following allegations of abuse, DDS put all seven homes run by Options Unlimited on special monitoring to make sure residents were not in danger.
"We are saddened and shocked by this video. We had no knowledge of its existence prior to yesterday and are now working closely with the authorities who are taking immediate action," Warren Sparrow, Executive Director of Options Unlimited said after the allegations surfaced. "This is unacceptable and we will continue to cooperate and assist in this investigation as well as take all the necessary steps to safeguard against this happening again."
Photo Credit: East Hartford Pplice