(914) 220-1086Andrew Hatcher, 28, of Brooklyn, New York, has been charged with endangering the welfare of two developmentally disabled residents under his care at Centerreach Intermediate Care Facility. Hatcher has been charged with two counts of Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree, a class E Felony, stemming from an incident where he tied up a resident.
According to Attorney General Schneiderman, Hatcher, knowing that he was the only caregiver on the night shift responsible for two severely physically impaired and intellectually disabled residents, “failed to care for them and failed to perform required 15-minute bed checks to ensure their safety.”
More appalling, though, on June 19, 2013 Hatcher is also being accused of tying up a resident in her bed. The woman, 59-years-old, and identified only as “L.R” was diagnosed with severe developmental and intellectual disabilities and weighed less than 50 pounds. Hatcher, allegedly, tied LR up in bed for the night – only to be found the next morning by another nurse who said she “saw that she was kneeling on her bed while sitting back on her feet and that her bedsheet had been wrapped and looped around L.R.’s waist and then tied in a knot to the left leg of L.R.’s pajama pants that had been removed from her leg, causing L.R. to be restrained and unable to get out of bed.” L.R. was soaked in urine and had injuries on her feet and right leg.
Hatcher admitted to state investigators that he had not checked on the woman or her roommate, and that he had lied to a co-worker stating that he had checked on the victims twice. Hatcher was arraigned before Suffolk County Supreme Court and if convicted, will face between one and four years in state prison.
Attorney General Schneiderman said that “My office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those individuals who prey upon our vulnerable and defenseless citizens.”
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