A California nursing home for autistic adults has been hit by a torture scandal after a former employee was allegedly filmed abusing two “vulnerable” residents.
Adekunle Fabunmi, 35, has been accused of physically torturing two adults at Elwyn-Mayall, a home for four people with developmental disabilities.
Fabunmi was caught on camera by another caregiver hitting one of the residents, Jude Cabanete, 31, in the head at the Northridge facility.
Additional images, reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, from August 25, showed Fabunmi continuing to hit Jude. That same night he punished another resident, Gregorio Topete, 30, an employee told police.
The resident’s mothers, Laura Topete and Mary Cabanete, are suing Fabunmi, Elwyn-Mayall and the Northern Los Angeles County Regional Center.
The lawsuit claimed that her children were “assaulted and beaten” by the caregiver and that her colleagues failed to intervene to stop the abuse.
Adekunle Fabunmi, 35, has been accused of physically torturing two adults at Elwyn-Mayall (pictured), a home for four people with developmental disabilities.
“I’m actually very grateful that someone recorded it, because our kids are not good historians,” Laura Topete said. “They would have gotten away with it.”
In response to the legal filing, Fabunmi declined to discuss the ongoing case and instead referred the Los Angels Times to his attorney Christian Oronsaye of Ivy Crest Attorneys.
In a letter, Oransaye said his signature “demands” that “new communications” cannot be made with Fabunmi without permission.
“We have also interviewed our client and believe that the allegations against our client regarding the incident are false,” the letter said.
The night of the alleged attack, Fabunmi was assigned to watch over Jude, who had spread feces on his mattress and vomited on the floor, another staff member reported.
The caregivers then washed the sheets, but when Jude told Fabunmi she wanted to shower and clean herself, another caregiver said Fabunmi said no.
According to an incident report, Jude ran to the staff bathroom and drank water from a container of disinfectant wipes that he emptied.
While the resident did this, Fabunmi followed him into the bathroom and began hitting him on the head while other caregivers recorded the violent interaction.
The 13-second video showed Fabunmi punching Jude four times in the face and punching him in the ear, while the sound of another slap could be heard off-camera.
As he was hit, Jude screamed: ‘No, no, no, no,’ as Fabunmi continued to torture him, additional footage revealed.
During another filmed incident, Fabunmi threw Jude off the couch and onto the floor.
Fabunmi then ordered Jude, who was naked from the waist down and wearing only a T-shirt, to do 400 jumping jacks.
According to Los Angles Times, Jude can be heard crying in the video because Fabunmi’s coworkers didn’t intervene.
That same night, Los Angeles police detectives said Fabunmi forced Gregorio to sit in the living room of the house for three hours while he stood next to the autistic man “in an intimidating manner.”
When Gregorio tried to move from the scene, Fabunmi hit him twice in the head and forced him to remain on the ground until 2 a.m., police said.
Colleagues have also accused Fabunmi of previously abusing another man he was paid to care for in 2019.
“The allegations … are isolated to a particular set of circumstances and do not represent Elwyn’s long-standing activities in California,” Elwyn said in a statement.
During that time, Fabunmi worked at Elwyn and another care center, People Creating Success.
In June of that year, the manager of People Creating Success called the police after another employee reported seeing Fabunmi slap a nonverbal man with cerebral palsy.
His co-worker told management that during the incident, Fabunmi became frustrated with the 55-year-old man as he tried to help him get dressed.
People Creation Success fired Fabunmi about two weeks after the incident, according to the report.
He later sued the company and suggested that the incident was “made up” in an attempt to get rid of him.
Fabunmi continued to deny hitting any of the Elwyn residents, but after a week he was let go.
Elwyn, a 170-year-old nonprofit that helps people with developmental disabilities, said the safety and health of its residents is of “paramount importance.”
The nonprofit operates approximately 50 licensed homes in California for disabled adults who cannot live alone.
“The allegations … are isolated to a particular set of circumstances and do not represent Elwyn’s long-standing activities in California,” Elwyn said in a statement.
Footage of the incidents was not sent to management until Aug. 27, when an employee told an investigator she “didn’t feel safe” reporting the abuse to her boss.
‘All the men in the house, when they approached the residents, they trembled. “Jude shuddered,” the anonymous employee told the investigator.
On August 30, the videos were sent to the Northern Los Angeles County Regional Center, a government-funded nonprofit organization that provides services to people with developmental disabilities.
Ari Stark, a quality assurance representative for the nonprofit, said the videos were “violent and horrible to watch.”
In an email to a supervisor, Stark said he is “very concerned about Elwyn’s ability to provide a safe and appropriate environment for any of its consumers.”
Gregorio’s mother, Laura, said that when she moved her son to the facility nine years ago, “he was sold wonderfully.”
Jude’s mother Mary said her son arrived in Elwyn in April 2022 and she initially thought the house was “familiar.”
Since their son stayed, both mothers said they discovered unexplained bruises.
Police were called twice to the home after Gregorio began hurting himself, while Jude escaped the home and ran toward a busy intersection, according to an incident report.
“It was torture,” Mary said after reviewing the detailed report.
Laura found a large red welt on her son’s head in January and discovered that Gregorio was hitting his head.
He said that since the traumatic incidents, Gregorio has caused more harm to himself and has “fallen apart.”
The worried mother has made it her mission to get him out of there.