CLINTON, S.C. — Two employees of a South Carolina state agency have been charged in connection to a case of violence against a vulnerable adult on Christmas day.
Warrants provided by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) state that, on Dec. 25, 37-year-old Lila Denise Kerson pushed the victim's head to the ground and then stomped the person's head. The warrant states that she later bent the victim's finger back toward the person's own hand.
The warrant adds that Kerson was employed by the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN) as a direct support specialist and that the incident happened at the Whitten Center in Clinton which cares for those with mental handicaps and disabilities.
An investigation led to Kerson being charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult on Jan. 25.
Another direct support specialist, 31-year-old Lasheba Tijaundra Turner, has been charged with failure to report abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult because, according to an additional warrant, she stood by as Kershon allegedly pushed, stomped, and otherwise hurt the victim and didn't intervene.
Both Kerson and Turner have been booked into the Laurens County Detention Center and are being prosecuted by the Eighth Circuit Solicitor's Office.
