LI Group Home Employee Punched Autistic Woman In Head: Police

DIX HILLS, NY — A Long Island group home employee punched an autistic woman in the head last month, Suffolk police said.

Ashley Wright, 32, of Amityville, was arrested Sunday and charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, police said.

Police responded to a 911 call of a woman punching another woman on Baldwin’s Path in Dix Hills around 2:55 p.m. on Oct. 21.

An investigation by Second Squad detectives determined a 34-year-old woman with autism had walked away from a group home and was located a short time later by Wright, who punched the woman before a supervisor arrived and escorted the victim back to the group home, police said.

The victim did not require medical attention, police said. The New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs was notified.

Wright was arrested at the Second Precinct in Huntington Sunday afternoon. She is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on a later date.

This investigation is continuing and detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.