Latest news with #TaniaLopez
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Prosecutors investigating group home accused in lawsuit of abusing Queens autistic man
Prosecutors are investigating a Long Island group home where a Queens mom says staff routinely abused and beat her adult autistic son for years. The Suffolk County district attorney's office confirmed Thursday, one day after the nonverbal autistic man's mother filed a federal lawsuit, that it has an 'open investigation' into allegations of abuse at the Life's WORC group home in East Islip. The Daily News was first to report about the lawsuit, which was filed in Brooklyn Federal Court Wednesday. It alleges that group home staff subjected a now 26-year-old resident, J.P., to two years of physical abuse, mistreatment and overmedication — even after video of one staffer kicking J.P. made television news in 2023. Tania Lopez, a spokeswoman for Suffolk DA Raymond Tierney, said Thursday that the investigation predates the lawsuit. Representatives of Life's WORC did not return messages seeking comment Thursday. According to the lawsuit, which cites three named whistleblowers, staff repeatedly punched and kicked J.P. and invented incidents in which he'd hit himself in the head so they could keep him in a drugged, 'zombie-like' state. Staff would tie his shirt sleeves to restrain him like he was wearing a straitjacket, gripped him so tightly he bruised, and didn't keep him properly dressed and groomed, the suit alleges, and in one instance doctors found a metal object in his colon after he was hospitalized in February 2024. The suit also alleges that administrators forced staff to delete a video from February 2023 showing one of the group home's autism support professionals, Bryan Amegah, kicking J.P. in the torso. The video got out anyway, and was aired in a News 12 Long Island story that June. 'We welcome the Suffolk County district attorney's investigation into Life's WORC,' said J.P.'s lawyer, Ilann Maazel of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. 'This case involves the systemic abuse, neglect and overmedication of one of the most vulnerable members of our community. We stand ready to cooperate fully if the DA seeks to hold individuals accountable — because justice for J.P. is essential to ensuring this never happens to anyone else.' In 2019, another staffer at the group home, Richard Garnett, forced one resident there to walk naked on a treadmill until he fell and fractured his neck, according to a now-settled lawsuit. Garnett was charged, and pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and was sentenced to three years' probation, Lopez said. 'I want justice and accountability,' J.P.'s mother, who goes by her initials, V.T., to protect her son's identity, told The News. 'My son is a human being. No one should be treated that way, or spoken to [that way]. No one should raise their hand to anyone. He's a disabled man.'
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Los Angeles-area pastor denounces immigration operations after arrest on church property
After a series of immigration operations took place across Los Angeles County once again on Wednesday, some pastors gathered to publicly denounce the actions of agents who detained a man on church property. It happened in Downey outside of Memorial Christian Church, one of several locations where operations took place in the city, according to Tania Lopez. She's the senior pastor at the church, who says that as a person of faith, it's her duty to put herself out there and try to find out exactly why the man was detained. In cell phone video footage captured by Lopez, the agents can be heard asking people repeatedly not to interfere and that they were just doing their jobs. "They don't care that faith leaders are out there," she said during a press conference after the incident. "They are coming, and they are relentless and cruelty is the point. ... So we will meet that cruelty with love." Lopez claims one of the agents pointed a gun at her when she approached the SUV they were in, when she attempted to ask for the name of the man they had detained. "So when they chose to draw their weapon on me, I kept saying, 'I'm not here violently, I am asking you to tell me why you're doing this,'" she said. Since Friday, federal agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security have conducted immigration operations across Southern California, resulting in more than 300 arrests, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Lopez was joined by other community members at the news conference, many of whom say that their interactions with federal agents have been haunting. "Wehn we said we don't want this on our property, this gentleman just shouted, 'The whole country is our property,'" said Downey Memorial Christian Church Reverend Pastor Al Lopez. "When someone tells that to you with a weapon in their hands, that was a very clear message." Federal agents can legally enter public areas of private properties, including waiting rooms, lobbies and parking lots. If they do not have a signed judicial warrant, they can wait for suspected undocumented immigrants to come outside. CBS News Los Angeles contacted ICE but has not received a response.
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Meet ‘Ninja', SA's rising karate star!
Meet Njabulo Sithole, who is known as 'Ninja' among his friends, because he is doing karate. The 16-year-old is a brown belt karate student, which puts him two steps away from a black belt! He was introduced to karate in 2016 at only six and a half years old by a friend. His parents, Ingrid and Sifiso, approved his enrolment as it was a good tool for managing his energy levels. This all-around sports person started as early as three years old at the Bright Sparks Pre-School in Kriel, where he did the 'Platy Ball' programme. They immediately saw that he was a natural at sports. Through the years, he became a versatile athlete, playing rugby, soccer and cricket, which led him to be enrolled in the Crystal Clear Soccer Academy, now called Super Sport. While doing karate, he also played cricket and rugby for Laerskool Kriel, later for Middelburg Primary School, and is now the captain of the U/16A rugby team at Hoërskool Kanonkop. 'Karate for me is about discipline, perseverance, sportsmanship (respect and loving one another even when we get to be each other's opponents on the floor), strength and mental stability,' said Sithole. On March 29, he was selected to represent South Africa at the upcoming World Championships Tournament, which will be taking place from June 10–14, leaving on June 8 and coming back on June 15. Eight students from their Witbank Dojo 'Team SA North-Mpumalanga' under the leadership of Sensei Daniel and Tania Lopez, will be travelling together for this tournament. Amongst their selected talented group are several current world champions and medallists, who are eager to defend or improve their previous accomplishments, which include: • Daniel Lopez – Current Men's World Light-Heavyweight Kumite Champion • Junior Makua – Current World U/21 Kata Champion • Llewellyn Combrink – Current World 16/17 Years Heavyweight Kumite Champion • Tania Lopez – Bronze medallist in Ladies' Lightweight Kumite. In addition, Sithole is forming part of the first-time participants, looking to make their mark on the international stage. 'As you can imagine, reaching this level of competition comes with significant financial challenges. Each student requires a minimum of R39 000 to cover travel, accommodation, entry fees, and other related expenses,' mentioned Sithole. • The requirements of the World Championship are for each country to show up in their colours and be uniform in all gear and clothing, which includes tracksuits, shirts, takkies, and karate kits. • People who want to support Sithole on his journey can call his father on 076 837 3021 for more information. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
