Tyler nurse pleads guilty after video depicts her physically harming disabled child
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — A 27-year-old Tyler nurse has pleaded guilty four months after a video surfaced of her physically assaulting a disabled minor.
AFFIDAVIT: Video captures Tyler nurse repeatedly abusing child with special needs
Gabrielle Erin Toon pleaded guilty on Oct. 30 to a third-degree charge of injury to a child following her July arrest, her defense team confirmed. While the state offered a straight probation sentence, the defense requested deferred adjudication. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday.
Toon’s case first came to light after the child’s grandparents reported to the Tyler Police Department that Toon, a live-in nurse, had been seen on video smacking and aggressively pushing their granddaughter while responsible for her care during evening hours.
According to court records, the child is immobile, non-verbal, dependent on nighttime oxygen, has a chronic lung disease and had a kidney transplant. The video, captured on July 1, shows Toon slapping the child multiple times and pushing her head onto a pillow while demanding she go to sleep.
The affidavit notes that the slap was “hard enough to be heard on the camera” and that the child instinctively raised her arm in response.
Following the release of the footage, officials confirmed Toon’s identity through her employment agency. She was subsequently arrested and charged with intentionally and knowingly causing bodily injury. Toon remains in the Smith County Jail pending sentencing.
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