July 10, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
A Colwyn couple was arrested for allegedly abusing and neglecting a 20-year-old woman with down syndrome.
A Colwyn couple was arrested for allegedly abusing and neglecting a 20-year-old woman with down syndrome, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said. The woman was under the couple's care.
In April, the woman was found outside the residence of Yahnae Clegg-Brown and Naiyr "Hasan" Sanders, having spent about four hours crying in rainy, 40-degree conditions, investigators said. When police arrived, she was suffering from malnourishment and had multiple injuries to her face and body. She was holding a trash bag of clothes.
MORE: Bucks County landlords ignored tenants' pleas to fix the heat for 13 years, lawsuit says
The woman, whose name has not been released, allegedly had been "systematically underfed and assaulted" whenever the couple did not approve of her behavior, investigators said.
Clegg-Brown is the woman's cousin and temporarily had taken over guardianship after the woman's previous caretaker died, the Inquirer reported.
The woman was forced to stay in a room with "no sheets, blankets or pillows and a deteriorating mattress," prosecutors said Thursday. Video footage obtained by officials allegedly shows Sanders pushing the woman down concrete stairs, slamming a door in her face and punching her on the right side of her face.
"It's heartbreaking to see a vulnerable member of our community suffer the abuse and neglect described in this case," Delaware District Attorney Tanner Rouse said in a statement. "Those entrusted with another person's care have a responsibility to protect them. To have systematically abused a young woman in this way is beyond comprehension."
Clegg-Brown was charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent person and one count of abuse of a dependent person. Sanders was charged with two counts of each, and simple assault. They are being held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility with bail set at 10% of $250,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.
Anyone with information related to the investigation can contact the lead investigator, Sgt. Steve Bannar, at (610) 891-4700.
