STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., -- A woman who works with the developmentally disabled on Staten Island has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a man in her care, authorities said.
The Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs said that Marilyn Bell, 47, who works as a direct support assistant at the Staten Island Developmental Disabilities Services Office, was arrested on Monday for a July incident during which she allegedly held the victim by the throat and hit him in the face and neck.
Ms. Bell, of Mariners Harbor, has been placed on administrative leave.
The 21-year-old victim, whose name is not being released, was in the Learn and Earn Pre-Vocational program, operated by the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, at the time of the incident, authorities said.
District Attorney Daniel Donovan's office said that the incident allegedly took place on July 8 at around 10:30 a.m. inside 930 Willowbrook Rd., where the program was being operated.
According to court papers, another direct support aide, Orressa Carruthers, alerted authorities after she allegedly saw Ms. Bell place her hands around the victim's throat "and hold him as she struck him repeatedly about the face with an open hand."
A law enforcement source said that Ms. Bell told officials that she had placed the man in a hold after he touched her breast.
Ms. Bell's attorney, Manny Ortega, said that Ms. Bell "vehemently denies" the allegations and said that anything she did was pursuant to official guidelines and training. He said she has worked for OPWDD for 21 years.
He said there was no inappropriate touching even though he said the 21-year-old man was "agitated."
Ms. Bell was arraigned in Stapleton Criminal Court on Monday and was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person in the second degree, a class "A" misdemeanor; one count of assault in the third degree, a class "A" misdemeanor, and one count of harassment in the 2nd degree, a violation.
She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court on Jan. 30, according to Donovan spokesman Douglas Auer.
The incident was initially reported to the Justice Center's Vulnerable Persons Central Register 24-Hour Hotline.
OPWDD did not immediately return a request for comment.