Fergus Falls Caregiver Arrested After Assaulting Vulnerable Adult

Ashley Simons (OTCDF)

Fergus Falls, MN – A group home employee has been charged with abusing and assaulting a vulnerable adult in Fergus Falls.

On Monday (November 18^th), the Fergus Falls Police Department received a report of assault on that occurred at a group home in Fergus Falls Sunday evening. The victim’s care provider told an officer that they had suspected abuse and used a recording device to capture evidence. They provided the officer with footage from the incident that showed the victim being assaulted by 23-year-old Ashley Simons of Alexandria.

According to court documents, the footage allegedly shows Simons feeding the victim food before becoming upset, standing up, and striking the victim twice in the head, before sitting back down. Later in the video, Simons kicks away the footrest she had been sitting on, walks to the side of the recliner the victim was sitting in, and physically removes the victim from the seat. According to officials, it is unclear whether she pulled the victim by the hair or their shirt collar, but it was clear the victim was not properly assisted out of the chair due to both the victim’s hands and legs being in the camera view.

In another video, Simons is seen walking the victim back to the recliner from another room, then pushing them into the chair saying, “Now sit! Enough!” Simons is then seen moving to the front of the recliner and appears to use her knee to hit the victim. When the victim got out of the recliner and started walking toward the dining area, Simons charged at the victim, who appeared to attempt to get out of the way by twisting their body away from her. Simons grabbed the victim’s wrists, and the victim attempted to hop to keep their footing before being pushed to the ground. As the victim fell to the floor, Simons yelled, “Get down!” She then grabbed the victim by the hands and pulled them off the floor before sliding furniture in front of the entrance to the living room where the victim was located.

The provider that reported the incident described the victim as usually laughing and playing, but after the assault they did not seem like themselves.

According to documents, a detective spoke with Simons over the phone. She told the detective that she had taken out her frustrations on the victim and got physical with them when she shouldn’t have. She claimed she had been trying to feed the victim and they were kicking and pushing her away. She says she “balled up her hand” and put it against the side of the victim’s head. When the detective asked if it was like a punch, Simons said, “Kind of, yes.” She said nothing like the incident had ever happened before, but stated she has a lot going on in her personal life. Simons denied any other incidents happening, but what did happen was not appropriate.

Simons was booked into the Otter Tail County Detention Facility on Monday and made her first court appearance Wednesday morning. She has been charged with one count of 4^th Degree Assault of a Vulnerable Adult and one count of Criminal Abuse by a Caregiver.