Kennedy
A Greenwood autism therapy center and its former employee are being sued by the mother of a child who was allegedly abused by the former employee.
Last Thursday, a Columbus woman and former Greenwood resident filed a civil lawsuit against both Leomeir V. Kennedy, 30, and Hopebridge Autism Therapy Center, a facility that specializes in treating children with autism, in Greenwood. The woman alleges that Kennedy abused her child while they were at Hopebridge, according to a civil complaint filed in Marion County Superior Court 1.
“We are bringing this suit to get some semblance of justice for this child,” said attorneys Jon Noyes and Kent Winingham of Indianapolis law firm Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The firm is representing the mother for the suit.
Kennedy, a behavioral therapist, was charged in April with child molestation, a Level 4 felony, and possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 2. He reportedly confessed to molesting three children under his care — including two patients at Hopebridge — since 2017. He is no longer employed by Hopebridge.
The mother alleges in the lawsuit that Hopebridge was “careless and negligent” by failing to protect her child from sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse, and failing to control and supervise Kennedy as one of their employees. She also claims that the center did not have an appropriate amount of staff to supervise the premises, which caused the abuse to happen, and that the center failed to appropriately respond to the sexual abuse, court documents say.
As for Kennedy, the lawsuit alleges he was “careless and negligent” by sexually, physically, emotionally and psychologically abusing the child. The mother says that as a result of the alleged negligence and/or carelessness of the center and Kennedy, her child suffered serious and permanent injuries, pain and mental anguish and suffered psychological and emotional damage, court documents say.
The child has also incurred medical and legal expenses, lost educational opportunities and lost enjoyment of life. They will continue to suffer such damages in the future, the lawsuit alleges.
The mother asks for a judgement in an amount that “fairly compensates” them for the alleged injuries and damages incurred, the costs of the suit and all other relief that is “just and proper.”
In a statement, a Hopebridge spokesperson said that protecting the safety and welfare of their patients, visitors and staff has always been their main priority. They declined to comment further at this time.
“Protecting the safety and welfare of our patients, visitors, and staff is always our main priority and has been at the core of who we are for over 17 years. At this time, we will not be able to comment further,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The criminal case against Kennedy is still pending.
Non-emergency help dealing with sexual assault resources is available at Franklin-based ASSIST Indiana at 317-739-4456. For a complete list of resources from the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, visit icesaht.org/get-help/. For emergency help dealing with sexual assault call or text 911 to report the crime.
