The father of an autistic teenager claims a trusted caregiver at an autism facility in New York physically abused his son. Garnet Collins, 50, allegedly tried to control the teen by squeezing his genitals at the Anderson Center for Autism in Staatsburg. An employee reportedly caught the incident on camera, and it is truly disturbing.
Video of the alleged abuse shared by WNYW appears to show Collins grabbing the teen boy’s genitals as he screams. The teen’s father, identified only as Anil, wants to know how anyone could let something like this happen.
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The Anderson Center has been in business for more than 100 years.
Anderson has a 100-year history in the community, per WNYW. However, it appears that, behind closed doors, the treatment of some of the people it serves is less than compassionate. Someone inside the facility allegedly recorded Collins abusing Anil’s son in August 2024. The witness, in the United States on a work visa, sent the video to Anil’s ex-wife. She then shared it with him.
“We immediately got in the car, drove upstate, pulled him out of the residence, and contacted the New York State Troopers,” Anil told WNYW.
Police arrested Collins.
According to WNYW, New York State police arrested Collins, who was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, a felony, and one count of forcible touching, a misdemeanor. Collins posted bail and left jail the same day. Experts tell the news outlet he faces up to 10 years in prison. Shockingly, he may not serve any time at all.
Anil claims his son faced abuse at Anderson on multiple occasions.
He told WNYW that a different Anderson Center employee struck his son in the face with a broom handle in 2023. The center allegedly tried to cover it up and claimed the injury was self-inflicted at first or caused by another resident. But an investigation revealed a caregiver injured his son.
The teenager also reportedly lost a lot of weight while at Anderson Center. Anil believes caregivers, including Collins, denied his son food.
“Our son has been traumatized,” Anil told the New York Post. “I want justice for my son, and justice for the other kids in that home.”
The whistleblower lost his job.
According to the Post, the Anderson Center fired the employee who alerted the family about the alleged abuse. A facility spokesperson denied to the Post that the firing had anything to do with Anil’s son.
Instead he was allegedly fired after “violating our drug use policy, inappropriate cell phone use during duties, failure to attend training, and sleeping during his training program.”
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Anderson Center officials claim to be cooperating with the investigation.
The facility shared a statement with WNYW that read as follows:
“Over the last century, we’ve developed a global reputation as a leader in caring for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. The allegations of reprehensible conduct are entirely contrary to our values, and we are fully cooperating with the authorities in their thorough investigation, which is still ongoing.”
But Anil doesn’t think that’s enough. “At the very least, we need to hold Anderson Center for Autism responsible,” he told the news outlet. “The rot at that institution is at the top.”
