An Illawarra carer has denied allegations she intentionally sprayed a disabled man with a high-pressure hose, leaving him with red marks at a Mount Ousley group home.
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On Friday, a hearing was held in Wollongong Local Court for Kerry Ann Barry to defend a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Police allege the 43-year-old used a gurney to hose down the man, 36, after he defecated on himself and in the backyard of the Mt Ousley branch of Aruma Disability Service on September 1, 2019.
Barry, who was charged in November and has been stood down from her job, claimed she was cleaning a swing and surrounding area when the man quickly walked through the stream and turned around before she released the trigger.
The court heard the man sustained three read marks on his buttocks and legs from the incident.
The court heard from several staff members who described the symptoms of the man when he became "elevated".
The court heard the man, who has severe autism, developmental delay and is non verbal, can become unpredictable, can hurt himself, throw himself on the ground and run at people to communicate he needs help.
Barry took to the stand to explain how the man was elevated when he woke up before he went to the kitchen and tried to grab the drinks of other clients in the home.
Barry said she then guided the man outside, as per his support plan, and after a short while he calmed down. She said he became elevated again and defecated on a swing and surrounding area.
Barry said she then started cleaning the seat with the gurney, believing the man was calm and not close by, but then he did a "fast-paced walk and bounce" towards her and into the stream of water.
"I kind of froze, he was jumping and moving...I let go and put it down," she said.
Barry said she then took the man inside, showered him, applied antiseptic cream to the marks and dressed him before calling the on-call manager.
"I was quite upset with what happened," she said.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Coby Davis said Barry's version changed and were inconsistent with the man's injuries, which were in a figure-8 pattern..
She said Barry failed to mention in her police statement that the man was "bouncing" when he walked quickly to her.
Barry denied the suggestion she only told the court he was "bouncing" to try to explain the pattern of red marks on his body.
Sgt Davis asked Barry why she did not release the trigger for three seconds, to which she responded she had a delayed reaction because she was shocked and froze.
"Did you attempt to clean him off with the gurney," Sgt Davis asked. "No," Barry replied.
Sgt Davis questioned why the woman prioritised cleaning the seat rather than the man, to which Barry said she was waiting for the him to calm down further.
Sgt Davis also suggested using the gurney was not in keeping with the man's support plan, which was to minimise noise.
Sgt Davis alleged that if Barry did not act intentionally then she was reckless as she did not know exactly where the man was when she started using the gurney and knew there was a possibility he could run towards her and the water.
Defence lawyer Alyce Fisher told the court the staff members' accounts of the man's behaviours were similar and supported Barry's version of events.
They said the gurney would regularly be used to clean faeces from the backyard however, team leader Helen Patterson denied this suggestion.
Ms Fisher told the court her client did not try to "downplay" the incident but rather made immediate reports to a fellow staff member and phone the on-call manager.
"I submit it is a reasonable hypothesis that the man did run into the stream and Ms Barry has not been intentional or reckless in her actions," Ms Fisher said.
The case was adjourned to March 11 for Magistrate Gabriel Fleming to hand down her judgement.
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