31-year-old Leomeir Kennedy, who identifies as a transgender man, was found dead inside a prison cell on Friday.
Kennedy faced accusations of sexually abusing children while employed at Hopebridge Autism Therapy Center in Greenwood, Indiana, FOX 59 reports.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department said Kennedy was found unconscious in the prison cell at around 9:32 a.m.
After unsuccessful CPR attempts, Kennedy was pronounced dead.
“A document filed in the Johnson County Circuit and Superior Courts show Leomeir Kennedy, identified as a transgender man in the document, confessed to molesting three children under his care — including two patients at a therapy center for children with autism,” FOX 59 reported earlier this year.
Ngo report: A therapist/#trans activist has been charged over sexually assaulting autistic children in Indiana. Leomeir Kennedy, formerly Allison, was on cross-sex hormones & told investigators it was "like Christmas" when molesting the nonverbal victim. https://t.co/hNtZXRInek
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 16, 2023
From FOX 59:
A probable cause affidavit stated Kennedy admitted to molesting a child while babysitting in October of 2017. He claimed it happened once while changing the child’s diaper.
Investigators were then told that Kennedy moved out of Indiana until about one year ago. He soon began working at Hopebridge Autism Therapy Center in Greenwood, a center that specializes in children.
Kennedy said he wanted to work there because he considered it a “victim pool,” court documents state. He also claimed he thought he “could really help children with autism grow.” He was licensed as a behavior technician, online records show.
FOX59/CBS4 spoke with the mother of one survivor, who wishes to remain anonymous and will be referred to as Jane. She said she started noticing changes in her nonverbal child’s behavior in late January.
“More temper tantrums, more aggression, and self-injuries,” Jane said. “A lot more.”
“They can’t talk to us. They depend on them and us. For someone who we have to trust and they have to trust to do something like this is sickening. It’s terrible.”
In order to avoid suspicion, Kennedy admitted to only preying on children who were not clients assigned to him. He told investigators he would molest children that he would take care of while their usual caregivers were on their lunch break.
“The Johnson County Coroner’s Office said there was no indication of foul play,” FOX 59 reported Friday.
Per FOX 59:
A lawsuit was filed by the mother of one of the victims in July against Kennedy and the therapy center.
The lawsuit claims that Hopebridge was “careless and negligent” by failing to protect Harris’ daughter from “sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse” and failing to control and supervise Kennedy as one of the center’s employees.
Kennedy’s case was supposed to go to trial at the end of July but was rescheduled until September.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!