‘I wanted it to be something else’: Mom whose nonverbal son was ‘shaking’ after his routine therapy appointment was horrified
A Florida therapist is accused of using items intended to help children with autism as weapons against a young patient, allegedly beating a nonverbal boy with a shoe, tennis racket, and book.
Reylan Cortes-Garnier, 28, faces a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, the alleged incident occurred on Feb. 20 at Maximum Achievers in West Palm Beach. Cortes-Garnier, a registered behavior technician, had reportedly been working with the boy for about a year.
The child’s mother, Diana Hernandez, became concerned after her son returned home with bruises and other marks on his body.
“The first thing I noticed, I saw he was shaking,” Hernandez told local CBS affiliate WPEC.
She went to the facility’s director and asked to review video footage from her son’s therapy session with Cortes-Garnier. What she saw, she said, was deeply disturbing. According to police, the video showed Cortes-Garnier “engaging in multiple intentional acts of child abuse,” including allegedly throwing a ball at the boy “at high velocity.”
Investigators say Cortes-Garnier then removed his shoe and struck the boy with it. Officers also allege he hit the child several times with a racket and a book.
Hernandez said she later noticed a bite mark on her son, along with bruises on his shoulder, ribcage, and lower back. She took him to the hospital for evaluation, where doctors determined the injuries were “consistent with physical trauma.”
Hernandez said she told the facility’s director that she wanted to involve police, but claimed the director was initially hesitant.
“Why are you risking your whole business for this man?” she said, according to WPEC. “You’re supposed to be taking care of my kids. I put my kids in your hands.”
Police reviewed the video with the director, who told investigators that such conduct is strictly prohibited at the facility and does not align with any established policy, training protocol, or individualized behavior plan.
The director said Cortes-Garnier “profusely apologized” when confronted and shown the footage. He has since been fired.
Hernandez told WPEC that her son was “traumatized” but is improving. She said the experience has been deeply upsetting.
“I just want justice. I just want justice for my son,” she said. “I honestly wanted it to be a lie. I wanted it to not be true. I wanted it to be something else.”
Cortes-Garnier was arrested Friday and later posted a $7,500 bond. His next court date is scheduled for March 29.
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