Tesa Keith, 37, pleaded guilty yesterday to violating the civil rights of a resident at the San Angelo State Supported Living Center in San Angelo, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox, and Michael Schneider, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Division.
“This defendant physically assaulted a resident at the Living Center with no legal justification,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to defend the civil rights of Americans and seek justice for those who have suffered unlawful abuses.”
“Instead of the care and compassion she deserved, this victim suffered abuse and humiliation,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “One of the DOJ’s most sacred duties is seeking justice for our district’s most vulnerable. We will not tolerate this sort of terrible behavior.”
“The FBI works closely with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate any type of civil rights violation,” said Michael Schneider, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Division. “The victim was unfairly prevented from receiving the care she was entitled to under the law.”
According to the plea agreement, Keith was working on June 13, 2017, as a Direct Service Provider at the San Angelo State Supported Living Center, a state-run facility. K.B. was a resident of the facility. Keith admitted to kicking K.B. in the face without legal justification and for the purpose of punishing her. Keith’s assault on K.B. resulted in bodily injury to K.B.
Keith faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the civil rights offense. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI’s San Angelo Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorneys Rose E. Gibson and Kate Hill of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
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