Man Convicted Of Beating Patients At Group Home Sentenced To 90 Days

NORTON (CBS) - The Judge Rotenberg Center is well known for taking care of severely disabled young people, some with severe autism that makes them non-verbal.

But in the summer of 2016, one of their employees at a group home in Norton was seen on surveillance video beating three young patients.

Andre Scott, 26, was convicted of Assault and Battery on a Disabled Person. Superior Court Judge Rosemary Connolly sentenced Scott to 90 days in jail despite the District Attorney asking for a minimum of five years.

"I think the video speaks for itself," said Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn. "If any reasonable person saw it they'd be horrified by it, especially given the vulnerable victims involved."

One of the young victims is William Weimer of New York. He has autism and is non-verbal. His parents were at the trial and heard the judge's sentence. "My wife and I were both physically nauseous," said Ed Weimer. "We all saw the video. It was a deliberate attack on my son. It left us in tears. And this sentence has done the same thing."

Scott was fired by the Judge Rotenberg Center after workers saw the video and it was the staff who alerted police.

District Attorney Quinn said the 90-day sentence was "inadequate and did not do justice."

Despite being severely beaten, William Weimer is still at the facility. His family says the Judge Rotenberg Center, despite one bad apple, is still the best home in America for William.