Caregivers rub liquid irritants in patients’ eyes and film Pennsylvania abuse, feds say
A Pennsylvania man will be headed to prison after officials say he targeted patients with disabilities he was supposed to be caring for.
Tyler Smith, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Smith was a caregiver at an in-patient health care facility located in New Brighton between May 2015 and September 2017, according to court documents.
Beginning in June 2016, officials say, Smith used his position to physically abuse patients. A co-worker at the time, Zachary Dinell, was also accused of taking part, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Pennsylvania said.
“Smith and Dinell carried out assaults in a variety of ways, including by punching and kicking residents, rubbing liquid irritants in their eyes, spraying liquid irritants in their eyes and mouths, and in one instance removing a resident’s compression stocking in a manner intended to inflict pain,” officials said.
Smith is accused of abusing 13 nonverbal patients, seven of whom were in wheelchairs, court documents said.
Smith admitted to jumping on top of a 13-year-old patient while the child was lying in bed, officials said. Then Dinell recorded it on his phone and sent the video to Smith.
Smith and Dinell recorded several incidents of abuse and sent images and videos to each other, officials said.
The two would also text each other about their ill feelings toward patients and encourage each other to continue the abuse, according to officials.
Smith, for example, is accused of saying a resident “won’t be satisfied until he gets thrown off the highest point of a steel cage onto concrete to put him out of his misery,” while Dinell said he was going to “murder” another resident.
“I choked the ---- out of him and now he’s coughing and yelling,” Dinell said, according to officials.
“Kill him dude, he’s better off,” Smith is accused of responding.
McClatchy News reached out to attorneys for both men and did not immediately receive a response.
Because the patients were nonverbal, they were unable to report the abuse, according to officials.
“Due to their physical disabilities, the residents also were not able to defend themselves against the assaults,” officials said.
Other text conversations included threats and details of abuse, according to court records.
Dinell previously pleaded guilty to all charges. In January, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison, officials said.
Smith agreed to a sentence of five to 10 years as part of his plea deal. He will be sentenced in March 2024.
New Brighton is about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
This story was originally published December 5, 2023 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Caregivers rub liquid irritants in patients’ eyes and film Pennsylvania abuse, feds say."
