‘Reign of Terror': Montgomery County caretaker sentenced for repeatedly beating man with autism

ROCKVILLE, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County man was sentenced to seven years in prison for repeatedly beating a vulnerable adult in his care.

The court played surveillance footage showing Fabrice Yantou, who worked at a Montgomery Village group home, attacking 24-year-old Max Wingo, who is non-verbal, has autism and isn't able to care for himself.

According to court documents, Yantou would beat Wingo if he turned the lights on in the middle of the night or wandered around the home. Prosecutors said Yantou attacked Wingo at least seven times in the month of April, sometimes kneeing him in the back and other times punching him in the stomach.

The judge described Yantou's action as a "reign of terror."

"I can't describe it. I really can't," Wingo's mother told FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal. "It just makes you so incredibly angry. It also makes you sick to your stomach, and it makes you feel like you've failed your child."

Yantou apologized repeatedly to both Wingo's family and his own family during his sentencing.