NORTHERN RICHLAND HILLS – The owner of a mental health center under investigation for child abuse has been arrested for failure to report.
According to police, Kiara Henry, 34, owner of ABA Interactive Behavioral Therapy, was taken into custody Wednesday at the North Richland Hills Police Department.
The arrest warrant was issued on July 24.
Meanwhile, authorities also issued an arrest warrant Tuesday afternoon for Ashley Moreno, a therapist at the facility who is accused of throwing a seven-year-old non-speaking autistic child against a wall.
Anyone with information on Moreno’s whereabouts should contact CrimeStoppers of Tarrant County at (817) 469-TIPS.
The facility is a medical facility designed to enable children with autism to learn in a controlled environment.
CBS News Texas confirmed that the facility is not only the focus of a police investigation, but also the focus of a lawsuit filed by the autistic child’s family. The family claims the facility should have been a place of learning but has instead become a place of fear.
According to the lawsuit, one of those students came home on June 20 with a visible scratch mark on his face. The lawsuit says the behavior center told the family their non-speaking autistic child had been having a behavioral outburst and further claimed he had inflicted the scratch on himself.
The boy’s parents claim that ABA’s owner did not allow them to view video of the incident because it violates the facility’s policies.
The lawsuit goes on to say that the parents were able to view a copy of the video, which was provided to them by another staff member. The video shows a therapist “lifting the child by his collar.” The therapist is then seen shoving the boy into a corner, stepping on another autistic child, and throwing the boy against a wall with her hands around his neck.
The family’s lawyer, Wesley Gould, said police now have evidence that the therapist abused other children.
“The fact that it happened was disgusting. But then there’s the fact that this facility covered it up even though they knew what was happening and swept it under the rug. The police have found other cases where this therapist has harmed other children without ever reporting it. That’s just bad behavior and anyone who goes to this facility,” Gould claims.
CBS News Texas knocked on ABA’s door during regular business hours, but the facility was closed and no one answered.
Gould added that this is very difficult for the family and the incident will leave emotional scars on the child. “If I were the parent of this young child, I don’t know what I would do,” Gould says. “But more importantly, there is the outrage, the fear and most of all, the absolute distrust of a system that has failed them and affected them. This type of case shocks everyone’s conscience and I think the community wants answers and wants these people to be held accountable.”
