DULUTH - A 24-year-old former caregiver at a Duluth group home for developmentally disabled people pleaded guilty Monday to mistreating a child who lived there.
Joseph Campbell Thoennes of Duluth entered the plea in St. Louis County District Court. As part of the plea agreement, a charge of malicious punishment of a child was dismissed.
According to the criminal complaint, a St. Louis County social services investigator learned that fellow staffers at the Trillium Services home reported in July 2007 that they suspected Thoennes had abused the resident, an older child who functions at the level of a 1- or 2-year-old.
Staffers said the child had rug burns under his nose and on his right forearm. The explanation that Thoennes gave did not appear consistent with the injuries, the complaint alleges.
A physician determined that the injuries could not have happened the way Thoennes said they did. Thoennes later acknowledged that a struggle had taken place and that he had dragged the child by the legs, causing the injuries. He also acknowledged that the force was excessive, the complaint says.
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Angela Gustafson, executive director of Trillium Services, said that Thoennes no longer works for her agency.
"This was one staff member acting irresponsibly and in complete disregard of company policy,'' Gustafson said.
Thoennes is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15.
