A newly filed civil lawsuit highlights how corporate negligence and severe failures by therapy providers create dangerous environments where client abuse occurs. The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard LLP has filed the suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court against the Center for Speech, Language, and Occupational Therapy, Inc. (CSLOT). The complaint alleges CSLOT negligently supervised behavioral technician Benjamin Amlicke, leading to the sexual assault of a nonverbal two-year-old child. Amlicke is facing felony sexual assault charges.

The lawsuit states CSLOT completely ignored explicit red flags prior to hiring Amlicke in June 2023. Amlicke is alleged to have consistently posted inappropriate, sexually explicit content on public social media, including full-body nudes and graphic pornography. CSLOT hired him anyway and allowed him unmonitored access to highly vulnerable clients in their private homes.

The critical turning point occurred on January 28, 2026, when the child’s mother checked her home surveillance phone app from work. She witnessed Amlicke leading her toddler into a bedroom, locking the door, and sexually assaulting the defenseless child. Subsequent reviews of past footage revealed multiple instances of abuse beginning during Amlicke’s very first session on January 7.

Nonverbal children with developmental disabilities face heightened risks because they cannot report abuse or describe their trauma to parents. Predators deliberately target these individuals, relying on their communication barriers to escape detection and evade criminal consequences. According to U.S. Department of Justice data, individuals with intellectual disabilities are seven times more likely to suffer sexual assault. When victims cannot voice their trauma, they often exhibit severe behavioral changes, as seen when this toddler showed sudden hyper-sexualized behaviors.

The legal action continues the firm’s ongoing mission to hold negligent caregiving institutions fully accountable for the abuse of vulnerable individuals. The firm recently secured a $6 million Sonoma County verdict against nonprofit Becoming Independent after a caregiver sexually abused a developmental adult. The firm also represents a 13-year-old autistic youth in a pending Santa Clara County lawsuit against Trumpet Behavioral Health/BlueSprig. In that Sunnyvale case, a hidden camera similarly captured a behavioral therapist abusing a highly vulnerable child.

“Care providers must realize that nonverbal children are prime targets for abuse because they cannot voice the trauma inflicted upon them,” said attorney Lauren Cerri. “We will continue fighting until provider corporations mandate rigorous social media monitoring, exhaustive background screening and supervision requirements to protect these vulnerable clients.”