HYDE PARK, NY — New York State Police arrested a staff member at the Anderson Center for Autism following an incident involving a resident at the facility.
Melinda A. Dorn, 32, of Pine Plains, was charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, a class A misdemeanor.
Police responded to the center on March 23, 2026, after receiving a report of an incident between a staff member and a student.
An investigation by uniform members and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Rhinebeck determined that Dorn flipped a couch on which a resident was lying, causing the resident to fall to the ground.
The resident then repositioned the couch and lay back down.
Dorn then flipped the couch again, causing the resident to fall to the floor a second time, according to police.
Dorn was arrested on March 30, 2026.
She was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Town of Hyde Park Court on April 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m.
