SAN ANTONIO, Texas – San Antonio police have arrested a caretaker in connection with an attack on a woman who was living in a facility for people with disabilities.
Natalia Gomez, 54, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon on a charge of injury to the disabled.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Gomez was caught on camera inside the facility, kicking the 31-year-old resident in her face.
The victim has a “profound intellectual disability” and communicates mainly through sign language, the affidavit says.
The attack reportedly happened on Dec. 17 at the San Antonio State Supported Living Center, located in the 6700 block of S. New Braunfels.
However, it was several days before a witness reported it.
The affidavit says Gomez worked at the center, and the victim lived there.
An additional report released by SAPD offers even more details of the incident.
The police report says she convinced another resident, who also has disabilities, to help her beat up the victim.
The report says they both punched and kicked the woman until she cried out and begged them to stop.
Police say after they found out about the incident, they spoke with another worker who identified Gomez as the person in the video.
Records show Gomez was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
By Wednesday morning, though, she had posted bond and was released from jail.
KSAT 12 News emailed a list of questions about this case to a spokesman with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees the living center.
Jose Andres Araiza, the deputy chief press officer, answered only one of those questions, saying Gomez no longer works at the facility.
He declined to say whether there may have been other victims in this case, referring us instead to SAPD.
However, Araiza did release a general statement on behalf of the state agency:
“At the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), we take all allegations of abuse or neglect seriously. Our policies and practices reflect that and include training for all staff on proper abuse and neglect reporting, unannounced visits by administration, state office review and quality assurance processes, and thorough investigations of all abuse, neglect or exploitation allegations. When such a claim is made, emotional and physical assessments of the involved resident are completed and appropriate protections are immediately put in place throughout the course of the investigation.”