AG NEWS RELEASE: Man charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person
Posted on Mar 14, 2016 in Latest Department NewsHONOLULU – Attorney General Doug Chin announced today that Lawrence Paul Miguel has been charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.
Mr. Miguel was a staff member at the Responsive Caregivers of Hawaii, Adult Daycare Program. The allegation against him is that on June 11, 2014 he manhandled two different clients in two separate events. The charges allege that Mr. Miguel bent the first victim’s wrist backwards before grabbing him by the shirt and forcing him into the wall. The charges further allege that the second victim was forced to the ground, straddled, and choked for removing a sandwich from a locker. Both victims are afflicted with profound intellectual disabilities and as a result are unable to communicate. Both incidents were observed by an eyewitness who intervened immediately.
Attorney General Chin said “Mr. Miguel was supposed to help these people, not hurt them. This Department will prosecute anyone who takes advantage of his position to harm those most in need of our assistance.”
The charges against Mr. Miguel are brought under section 709-905 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS). A conviction for these charges is a misdemeanor that carries with it a sentence of up to one year in jail pursuant to HRS section 706-663.
Mr. Miguel is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
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For more information, contact:
Joshua A. Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284