A central Iowa caregiver accused of kicking and punching an autistic teenager is now facing criminal charges of dependent adult abuse.
State records indicate Falisha Turner, 47, of Des Moines was employed by as a care professional by Home Instead, an in-home care provider, earlier this year. The company provides daily living assistance for people with disabilities, usually in residential settings.
According to court and state unemployment records, Turner was driving a home-care client on March 14, 2026, when she was pulled over by police, who informed her there was an arrest warrant for her related to an incident that had occurred days earlier when Turner was working for a different company. She was then charged with dependent adult abuse.
Court records indicate Turner was accused by police of punching an 18-year-old autistic woman in the face “multiple times in the face, and kicking her in the chest, causing physical injury.” The incident allegedly happened at a Waukee residence owned by Watchtower Investment Group, a company that provides affordable housing for people with disabilities.
Two days after her arrest, Turner was fired from Home Instead after being placed on the state’s adult abuse registry, which made it impossible for her maintain employment as a caregiver for that or any other Iowa company. A judge later denied Turner’s application for unemployment benefits, citing her placement on the registry.
Turner has pleaded not guilty to the charge of dependent adult abuse and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2026.
Turner told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that a state abuse investigator told her there was video of her attacking the alleged victim and that a supervisor had also witnessed the incident. Turner said she was never shown any video and that she suspects the supervisor fabricated the allegations to cover up her own role in the matter.
“I never punched that lady. I never punched her, I never choked her, I never chased her,” Turner said, adding that there had been a physical altercation that resulted in her trying to “break free” of the teenager who was grabbing at her clothes, neck and hair.
“The only thing I tried to do was run out the door,” Turner said.
Originally published on iowacapitaldispatch.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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