A caregiver has been cited on suspicion of misdemeanor child abuse after being accused of punching a 16-year-old ward of the state several times in the face.
The caregiver, Jordan J. Picou, is a former University of Nebraska football player and is listed as being 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds.
The police report says he was the teen’s caregiver, and the incident happened April 13 at the Visinet Youth Resource Center, 3407 S. 72nd St.
Police said that the boy had found a cell phone which he wasn’t supposed to have. Picou tried taking the phone, there was a struggle, and the boy spit in his face. Police said Picou then started punching the boy.
The boy was taken to Immanuel Hospital after the incident, which was caught on surveillance video. Police said his injuries were not serious.
The boy was a ward of the state and was placed at Visinet until a foster care placement could be found.
Juvenile court records indicate the boy, who is mentally challenged, was removed from his home because of allegations of abuse. A child neglect case is pending in juvenile court.
The boy was accused of assaulting staff members at a different facility in January but charges were declined in those cases.
Visinet was a private child-welfare agency that closed last week after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Calls to Visinet officials were not immediately returned. Picou could not be reached for comment.
Visinet provided services for an estimated 2,000 children in eastern and southeastern Nebraska.
It was not clear where the 16-year was placed after the incident.
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