Updated: 12:41 PM EDT May 6, 2021
Two Laurens County women were arrested after a woman they were in charge of caring for was left strapped to a toilet for nearly eight hours, according to arrest warrants. Mariquita Antionetta McGowan, 35, and Jasmine Lariane Tomika Carter, 25, were each charged with neglect of a vulnerable adult.The women were arrested Wednesday in connection with the incident that happened at Whitten Center in Clinton, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. (Video above: Morning headlines) The Whitten Center is a residential facility of the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, according to its website. Both McGowan and Carter were employees of the facility and the victim was a resident, according to arrest warrants. An arrest warrant said McGowan strapped the woman to the toilet using the toilet pelvic position device at about 10:40 p.m. on Nov. 23, 20202 and never went back to check on her. The warrant said the woman was removed from the device at about 6:20 a.m. the next morning. A warrant for Carter said that she went into the bathroom where the victim was at 2:30 a.m., turned on the light and left without removing the victim from the device. The woman's treatment plan did not authorize the use of the device, according to the arrest warrants. SLED said Whitten Center requested the agency investigate the case.McGowan and Carter were booked at the Laurens County Detention Center.The case will be prosecuted by the Eighth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.