7-year-old's death brings charges
of negligence
A counseling center and employee
are charged; use of a choke hold is alleged
December 01, 2006
BARRON, WIS. - A counseling center
and one of its staff members have been charged with negligence in
the death of a 7-year-old girl who had been restrained at the center
because of behavioral problems. Angellika Arndt was repeatedly
endangered at Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic's day
treatment center in Rice Lake, Wis., leading to the May 25 choke
hold that resulted in her death, according to a criminal complaint
filed in Barron County Circuit Court. She died the next day at
Children's Hospital of Minneapolis; her death was ruled a homicide.
The clinic was charged with
negligent abuse of a patient, a felony punishable by fines up to
$100,000, District Attorney Angela Holmstrom said.
Bradley A. Ridout, 29, of Rice
Lake, a mental health professional and group facilitator at the
clinic, which is now closed, was charged with misdemeanor negligent
abuse of a patient causing bodily harm, the prosecutor said.
Ridout is accused of improperly
restraining the girl, resulting in her death by asphyxiation, the
complaint said.
In a statement Friday, Denison
Tucker, president of the board of directors for Northwest Counseling
and Guidance Clinic in Frederic, Wis., said attorneys for the clinic
are working with prosecutors to negotiate a final settlement.
Attorney Tim O'Brien of New
Richmond, Wis., said that Ridout didn't intend to harm the child and
that he feels terrible. He "was simply doing what he was trained to
do by the facility," O'Brien said.
The defendants are due in court
Wednesday.
Angellika, who was in foster care,
had attended the treatment center five days a week for a month for
problems including attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder,
mood disorder and reactive attachment disorder. She had been
restrained on nine occasions, according to the state report released
June 22.
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