A Florida nurse has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a disabled teenager, according to police.
Nia Ayers, 24, has been accused of assaulting an 18-year-old quadriplegic, non-verbal woman who has also been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Fox 35 Orlando reports. Her alleged assault was caught on surveillance video.
On May 3, the victim's mother noticed red cuts and scrapes on her daughter's face, according to the broadcaster. She checked surveillance footage and saw who she described as Ayes assaulting her daughter.
After police issued an arrest warrant for Ayes, the nurse turned herself in to the St Cloud Police Department on Wednesday night.
St Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke told Fox 35 Orlando that Ayers worked for two healthcare companies, and both have been alerted to her arrest. She has reportedly worked as a licensed practical nurse since 2021 and has no previously documented complaints or disciplinary actions.
According to the arrest warrant, an officer who viewed the surveillance video described Ayers' alleged actions as "acts of torture."
The video reportedly shows Ayers repeatedly taping the victim's mouth shut and ripping the tape off, as well as shaking the victim's head and body, pinching the woman, and shaking her breathing machine with such force that the woman's nose began to bleed.
The arrest warrant also says that Ayers can be seen holding a washcloth over the victim's mouth for 10 seconds, and again for another seven seconds. The paralyzed woman appears to be trying to move her head away as she's being suffocated.
The victim's mother said Ayers had been working in her home for more than a year, and she is worried there may have been other instances of abuse she has not discovered.
Police are still examining the surveillance footage collected from the home.
"It’s just absolutely shocking; it’s unimaginable that somebody could do something like this," Goerke told the broadcaster. "If we do find something else, there will be additional charges coming. We will drop charge after charge after charge on this person to ensure either she never sees the light of day, or she doesn’t ever do this again."
Ayers is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail without bond. Her next court date has not been determined. It is unclear if she has retained an attorney or is using a state defender.
