Indiana Staff Members Charged with Battery of Residents of Assisted Living Facility for Disabled

From left, Shawn Frye, Nigel Mims, Timothy Ryan Shelton and Charles Guyse Shelton have been charged with battery and neglect of a dependent, police said.

 (Lake County Sheriff's Department / Handout)

INDIANA -- Four staff members at an assisted living residence in Hobart have been charged with multiple counts of battery and neglect of a dependent in two separate incidents involving residents with disabilities, one of which resulted in three broken ribs.

article by Karen Caffarini for the Post-Tribune | June 10, 2016

Charles Guyse Shelton, 26, of Gary, was charged Thursday in Lake Superior Court with one count each of battery and neglect of a dependent, both level 5 felonies, one count each of level 6 battery and neglect of a dependent and one count each of Class A and Class B misdemeanor battery.

Shelton allegedly pushed a 57-year-old resident with intellectual development disability, physical and medical disabilities on April 10 and knocked him into the stairs at the residence in the 1600 block of Minnesota Street after the two argued over the thermostat.

The resident said he was cold and repeatedly turned the thermostat up as the employee turned it down, Hobart police Detective Sgt. Dave Evans stated in the probable cause affidavit.

After complaining that his back hurt, the resident was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, where they discovered he had three broken ribs, Evans said.

Shelton reportedly claimed there was water on the floor and that the resident slipped and fell.

In another incident, three employees of the same assisted living residence allegedly threw down, kicked and punched a 63-year-old resident with intellectual development disability, autism, depression and several medical and physical disabilities, causing a 6-inch by 4-inch bruise to the resident's left inner thigh.

According to the affidavit, the incident occurred on April 3, after the resident accidentally defecated on himself.

Another resident in the home told police he saw two staff members -- Shawn Frye and Timothy Ryan Shelton -- kicking the injured resident in the stomach and laughing at him as the resident cried and told them to get out of his room, Evans stated in the affidavit.

The victim also pointed to a photo of employee of Nigel Mims, when asked who hurt him, according to Evans.

Frye, 21, of Gary, Mims, 24, of Gary, and Shelton, 22, of Merrillville, have been charged in Lake Superior Court with one count each of battery and neglect of a dependent, both level 5 felonies, one count each of level 6 battery and neglect of a dependent and one count each of Class A and Class B misdemeanor battery.

Charles Guyse Shelton and Timothy Ryan Shelton are not related, according to Hobart police Lt. James Gonzales.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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