California care home for autistic adults is hit by torture scandal after worker 'was filmed beating up two vulnerable residents on same night'

A care home in California for autistic adults has been hit with a torture scandal after a former employee was allegedly filmed abusing two 'vulnerable' residents. 

Adekunle Fabunmi, 35, has been accused of physically torturing two adults at the Elwyn-Mayall, a four-person home for people with developmental disabilities. 

Fabunmi was caught on camera by another caregiver as he hit one of the residents, Jude Cabanete, 31, in the head at the Northridge facility. 

Additional footage, reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, from August 25, showed Fabunmi continuing to hit Jude. On the same night, he punished another resident, Gregorio Topete, 30, an employee told police. 

Both of the resident's mother's, Laura Topete and Mary Cabanete, have sued Fabunmi, Elwyn-Mayall and the North Los Angles County Regional Center. 

The lawsuit stated that their sons were 'assaulted and battered' by the caregiver and that his colleagues did not step in to stop the abuse.  

Adekunle Fabunmi, 35, has been accused of physically torturing two adults at the Elwyn-Mayall (pictured), a four-person home for people with developmental disabilities

'I’m actually really grateful that somebody recorded it — because both of our sons are not good historians,” Laura Topete said. 'They would have gotten away with it.' 

In response to the legal filling, Fabunmi declined to discuss the ongoing case and instead referred the Los Angels Times to his attorney Christian Oronsaye from Ivy Crest Attorneys. 

In a letter, Oransaye said that his firm 'demands' that 'further communications' with Fabunmi cannot be made without permission. 

'We have also interviewed our client and believe that the allegations against our client regarding the incident are false,' the letter stated. 

On the night of alleged attack, Fabunmi was assigned to watch Jude, who had spread feces on his mattress and vomited on the floors, another staffer reported. 

Caregivers then washed the sheets, but when Jude expressed to Fabunmi that he wanted to take a shower and clean off, another caregiver said that Fabunmi said no. 

According to an incident report, Jude then ran to the staff bathroom and gulped water from a disinfectant wipe container that he emptied. 

As the resident did this, Fabunmi followed him into the restroom and started to strike him in the head as other caregivers recorded the violent interaction. 

The 13 second video showed Fabunmi hitting Jude four times in the face and punching him in the ear, as the sound of another slap was heard off camera. 

As he was hit, Jude yelled out: 'No, no, no, no,' as Fabunmi continued to torture him, additional footage revealed. 

During another filmed incident, Fabunmi threw Jude from the couch and onto the ground. 

Jude, who was naked from the waist down, only wearing t-shirt, was then instructed to do 400 jumping jacks by Fabunmi. 

According to the Los Angles Times, Jude can be heard crying out in the video as Fabunmi's co-workers failed to intervene. 

That same night, Los Angeles Police detectives said that Gregorio was forced to sit in the living room of the home by Fabunmi for three hours as he stood over the autistic man 'in an intimidating manner.' 

When Gregorio tried to move from the spot, Fabunmi then slapped him twice on the head and made him stay on the ground until 2am, police said. 

His colleagues have also accused Fabunmi of previously abusing another man that he was paid to take care of in 2019. 

'The allegations ... are isolated to a particular set of circumstances, and do not represent Elwyn’s long-standing activities in California,' Elwyn said in a statement

During the time, Fabunmi was working at Elwyn and at another care facility, People Creating Success. 

In June of that year, the manager at People Creating Success called the police after another employee reported that she saw Fabunmi slap a nonverbal man with cerebral palsy. 

His co-worker told management that during the incident, Fabunmi became frustrated with the 55-year-old man as he tried to help him get dressed. 

People Creating Success fired Fabunmi about two weeks after the incident, according to the report. 

He later sued the company and suggested that the incident was 'made up' in an attempt to get rid of him.  

Fabunmi went on to deny that he hit any of the residents at Elwyn, but within a week, he was let go. 

Elwyn, a 170-year-old nonprofit, that helps people with developmental disabilities, said that the safety and health of its residents is of 'paramount importance.' 

The non-profit operates approximately 50 licensed homes in California for disabled adults who cannot live on their own. 

'The allegations ... are isolated to a particular set of circumstances, and do not represent Elwyn’s long-standing activities in California,' Elwyn said in a statement. 

Footage of the incidents were not submitted to management until August 27 as an employee told an investigator that she 'did not feel safe' reporting the abuse to her boss. 

'All the males in the home, when they get close to residents, the residents flinched. Jude flinched,' the unnamed employee told the investigator. 

On August 30, the videos were sent over to North Los Angeles County Regional Center, a government-funded nonprofit that provides services to those with developmental disabilities. 

Ari Stark, a quality assurance representative for the nonprofit said that the videos were 'violent and horrible to watch.' 

In an email to a supervisor, Stark said that he is 'super concerned with Elwyn's ability to provide a safe and appropriate environment to any of their consumers.'

Laura, Gregorio's mother, said that when she moved her son into the facility nine years ago, 'it was sold beautifully' to them. 

Mary, Jude's mother, said that her son arrived at Elwyn in April 2022 and that she initially thought the home was 'family friendly.' 

Since their son's stays, both mother's said that they have discovered unexplained bruises.

Police were called twice to the home after Gregorio started to hurt himself, while Jude escaped the home an ran into a busy intersection, an incident report said. 

'It was torture,' Mary said after she reviewed the detailed report.

Laura found a large red welt on her son's head in January and discovered that Gregorio was hitting himself in the head. 

She said that since the traumatic incidents, Gregorio has caused more harm to himself and has 'fallen apart.' 

The worried mother has made it her mission to get 'him out of there.'