Colorado caregiver pleads guilty in "heinous" abuse of developmentally disabled man
A 71-year-old Arapahoe County woman, Gerilynn "Lynn" Amaro, has pleaded guilty to felony abuse of an at-risk, developmentally disabled man who she supervised for years. Videotapes obtained by CBS News Colorado showed Amaro repeatedly kicking and punching Oscar, a 55-year-old man who functions at the level of a 5- to 8-year-old.
CBS Colorado is only identifying Oscar by his middle name to protect his identity.
Court records confirmed by CBS News Colorado show Amaro pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of assault of an at-risk person and six other charges against her are being dropped. Amaro is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18. She did not respond to a text message from the television station seeking comment about her guilty plea.
Arapahoe County authorities arrested Amaro in February. She was the legal guardian for Oscar, her cousin; Oscar's father died in 2010.
The videotapes were shot in 2023 by one of Amaro's daughters, Melissa Crawford, at the family home in Strasburg. They showed Amaro forcing the man to exercise with a bar of soap in his mouth while screaming at him. Some clips showed Amaro pushing her cousin to the floor, kicking him and pulling on his hair.
"Get your f---ing arms down," she yelled at him during one videotaped session.
Reached after the guilty pleas were entered, Crawford said the plea bargain for her mother was "fair and just for the crimes she committed. Her heinous actions have finally ended after many years of abuse," Crawford said.
She said Oscar "had no ability to protect himself" and endured years of emotional, mental and physical suffering.
Earlier this year, two other members of the same family -- Amaro's husband and their daughter Ricci -- were also arrested and charged with felony assault of an at-risk adult. Their criminal cases are still pending.
Crawford said she hopes this case helps lead to changes and more protection for people like Oscar: "These behaviors and actions must be ended around our entire country."
