Dyana Ko of Redondo Beach, Calif. recently tuned into the living room of her home, using a special Nanny Cam app. What she saw was her worst nightmare, as she watched the family nurse – Thelma Manalastas – brutally beating her two-year-old special needs son Landon in the living room her own home.
Special needs son requires 24-hour nursing care
As reported by CBS News, Ko’s two-year-old suffers from Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, which led to the child suffering several intellectual and physical disabilities. Landon is blind in one eye, eats with a feeding tube and is non-verbal.
The toddler requires 24-hour nursing care.
According to Ko, she and her husband had been enjoying their other son’s basketball game, a 20-minute drive from their home, at the time she tuned into the nanny cam app. Ko said they were in the parking lot at the time they tuned in. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Ko and her husband watched on their mobile app as the scene unfolded, showing Manalastas beating the child several times before hitting him with a rolled up magazine. The Kos immediately called 911 to report the child abuse and officers responded to their home to arrest Manalastas.
CBS2@11 EXCLUSIVE: Nanny cam captures horrific abuse of special needs 2 y/o The young victim's parents have a message for parents @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/Q2kFFSxd2i
— Tom (T.J.) Wait (@CBSLATom) June 23, 2017
Ko family files lawsuit against the family nurse and her employer
As reported by the New York Post, the Ko family has since filed a lawsuit against the family nurse along with Maxim Healthcare Services, the nationwide home healthcare company that employs her.
Maxim then told CBS in a statement that as soon as they learned about the incident, they conducted an investigation, resulting in the termination of Manalastas’ employment with the company. Maxim further informed the California Board of Nursing about the incident, saying the company is fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate the incident.
Parents still in shock over brutal beating of their special needs son
Ko added that she and her husband feel as though they have failed their sons as parents, because they had left him in someone else’s care. Chris Ko, Landon’s father, said it was heart-wrenching to see their son so helpless, adding they had to force themselves to watch it as it happened on the nanny cam app.
Scott Dinsmore, lawyer for the Ko family, said Maxim’s statement about the incident isn’t sufficient. Speaking of the two-year-old’s beating, Dinsmore said it was the “worst case” of someone taking advantage of a vulnerable person he had ever seen. CBS Los Angeles reports that there are other lawsuits pending against Maxim, but they would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Readers please note: the video below is very disturbing.
