Brittany Horn

The News Journal

State police have arrested a New Castle caregiver charged with assaulting an autistic 13-year-old boy at Manor Group Home in Newark.

The woman, 53-year-old Harrietta Kanda, was charged with felony child abuse in the second degree – recklessly or intentionally causing physical injury to a child with intellectual disabilities, and endangering the welfare of a child – intentionally, knowingly or recklessly acting in a manner likely to injure a child, said Sgt. Richard Bratz, a spokesman with Delaware State Police.

Police began investigating Kanda on April 9 after receiving a notification through the child abuse hotline regarding the assault of a boy at a group home owned by Christina School District, Bratz said. The caller told the hotline that a 13-year-old had been assaulted by a caregiver at the Manor Group Home located at 30 Glyn Drive, he said.

Further investigation indicated that on April 8, Kanda was seen hitting the boy, who police said does not speak, in the back of the head several times with a closed fist.

Detectives learned that Kanda asked the child to come back to the kitchen to clean up after his dinner, Bratz said. Shortly after he went into the kitchen, Bratz said, the child was heard crying out multiple times. When another staff member went into the kitchen, the child was found on the floor with Kanda standing over him, he said.

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"Kanda had her hands on the front of his shirt collar lifting him up off of the floor," Bratz said in a statement. "Kanda was then seen striking him several times in the back, neck and head area with a closed fist."

The staff member immediately stopped Kanda from hitting the child again, he said. Kanda and the boy were then separated, Bratz added.

A school nurse completed an injury report on the afternoon of April 11, noting she observed injuries including redness and bruising on the boy's right upper arm and scratches on the back of his neck, Bratz said.

The state Attorney General's Office then reviewed the investigation before issuing warrants on Sept. 8 for Kanda's arrest. She turned herself in at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at Troop 2 where she was formally charged.

Kanda was released on $2,000 unsecured bail with a no contact order for anyone under the age of 18.

Police said only limited information will be released due to the sensitivity of the case.

Anyone with information should contact Detective B. Harris at Troop 2 Glasgow at (302) 365-8410. Tips may also be provided to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, delaware.crimestoppersweb.com , or by texting to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword DSP.

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.