Left to right: Naiyr "Hasan" Sanders and Yahnae Clegg-Brown (Delaware County District Attorney's Office).
A Pennsylvania couple is accused of starving and repeatedly beating a 20-year-old woman with Down syndrome who was in their care before forcing her to stand outside in the cold rain for hours with her belongings packed into a trash bag.
Yahnae Clegg-Brown, 31, and Naiyr "Hasan" Sanders, 35, were arrested Tuesday and charged with abuse and neglect of a care-dependent person, court records show. Sanders also faces a charge of simple assault.
According to a news release from the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, the investigation began April 25 after an anonymous caller reported what appeared to be a child crying on the front steps of a Colwyn home for about four hours in 40-degree weather and steady rain.
Police later determined the person outside was a 20-year-old woman with Down syndrome. Officers found her in distress, soaked through and clutching a trash bag full of clothes. She told an officer she was injured, prompting emergency medical responders to transport her to a hospital, where investigators said she was found to have an eye injury, multiple marks on her body and signs of malnourishment.
Prosecutors allege the victim had been "systematically" underfed and assaulted while living with Clegg-Brown and Sanders. They said the caregivers routinely withheld food and physically assaulted her when they disapproved of her behavior.
"The victim was forced to stay in a room which contained bunk beds with no sheets, blankets, or pillows and a deteriorating mattress," the release states. "Video footage recovered from the home shows Naiyr Hasan Sanders pushing the victim down concrete steps and shutting the door in her face. Another video shows Sanders punching the victim on the right side of her face."
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the Delco Times provided additional details about the allegations.
According to the newspaper, hospital staff said the woman weighed just 82 pounds, describing her as "extremely thin and malnourished." She was also soaked in urine, had skin sores, significant hair loss and repeatedly asked for food before eating an entire meal once it was provided.
The affidavit further alleges that witnesses told investigators the woman lost between 40 and 50 pounds while living with the defendants. Clegg-Brown allegedly beat her on the head and back whenever she tried to take food, while meals were limited to noodles, oatmeal or leftovers from other members of the household. She was also allegedly required to eat on the floor while everyone else sat at the table.
Detectives also learned the woman had not received regular medical care or attended school during the roughly two years she lived with the defendants despite requiring treatment for several medical conditions, according to the affidavit.
The probable cause affidavit alleges the confrontation that led to police being called began after the woman took Goldfish crackers belonging to the defendants. Ring camera footage allegedly captured Clegg-Brown and Sanders mocking her as she pleaded to be let back inside after being thrown out of the home with her clothes in trash bags.
Both defendants remain jailed after failing to post 10% of their $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16, court records show.
"It is heartbreaking to see a vulnerable member of our community suffer the abuse and neglect described in this case," Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said in a statement. "Those entrusted with another person's care have a responsibility to protect them. To have systematically abused a young woman in this way is beyond comprehension. My office will continue to stand up for victims who cannot always stand up for themselves and will work tirelessly to hold those responsible accountable."