From left: Naiyr “Hasan” Sanders and Yahnae Clegg-Brown (Delaware County District Attorney’s Office).
A Pennsylvania couple has been accused of abusing a 20-year-old woman with Down syndrome who was entrusted to their care, with authorities alleging she was deprived of food, beaten multiple times and eventually left outside for hours in cold, rainy weather while holding her belongings in a trash bag.
Yahnae Clegg-Brown, 31, and Naiyr “Hasan” Sanders, 35, were taken into custody Tuesday, according to court records. Both are charged with abuse and neglect of a care-dependent person, while Sanders is also charged with simple assault.
The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office said the case began on April 25, when an anonymous caller reported that someone who appeared to be a crying child had been sitting on the front steps of a Colwyn residence for roughly four hours as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees and rain continued to fall.
Responding officers later learned the person outside was a 20-year-old woman with Down syndrome. Police found her upset, drenched and holding a trash bag filled with clothing. After she told an officer she was hurt, emergency medical personnel took her to a hospital, where investigators said medical staff documented an eye injury, numerous marks across her body and indications that she was malnourished.
Prosecutors claim the woman had been “systematically” denied adequate food and subjected to physical violence while living with Clegg-Brown and Sanders. Authorities said the pair regularly withheld meals and assaulted her when they were unhappy with her behavior.
“The victim was forced to stay in a room which contained bunk beds with no sheets, blankets, or pillows and a deteriorating mattress,” the release states. “Video footage recovered from the home shows Naiyr Hasan Sanders pushing the victim down concrete steps and shutting the door in her face. Another video shows Sanders punching the victim on the right side of her face.”
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the Delco Times outlined further details about the accusations.
According to the newspaper, hospital staff said the woman weighed just 82 pounds, describing her as “extremely thin and malnourished.” She was also soaked in urine, had skin sores, significant hair loss and repeatedly asked for food before eating an entire meal once it was provided.
The affidavit further alleges that witnesses told investigators the woman lost between 40 and 50 pounds while living with the defendants. Clegg-Brown allegedly beat her on the head and back whenever she tried to take food, while meals were limited to noodles, oatmeal or leftovers from other members of the household. She was also allegedly required to eat on the floor while everyone else sat at the table.
Detectives also learned the woman had not received regular medical care or attended school during the roughly two years she lived with the defendants despite requiring treatment for several medical conditions, according to the affidavit.
The probable cause affidavit alleges the confrontation that led to police being called began after the woman took Goldfish crackers belonging to the defendants. Ring camera footage allegedly captured Clegg-Brown and Sanders mocking her as she pleaded to be let back inside after being thrown out of the home with her clothes in trash bags.
Both defendants remain jailed after failing to post 10% of their $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16, court records show.
“It is heartbreaking to see a vulnerable member of our community suffer the abuse and neglect described in this case,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said in a statement. “Those entrusted with another person’s care have a responsibility to protect them. To have systematically abused a young woman in this way is beyond comprehension. My office will continue to stand up for victims who cannot always stand up for themselves and will work tirelessly to hold those responsible accountable.”
