Two former employees of Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office have reached plea agreements with the Franklin County district attorney’s office for their roles in an assault on a Sunmount resident.

In January 2015, state police charged Jimmy J. Beaulieu of Ogdensburg and Robert C. Kennedy of Tupper Lake with two felonies, first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and first-degree falsifying business records, as well as two misdemeanors, third-degree assault and making a false statement. The charges stem from an incident between Beaulieu, Kennedy and a Sunmount “consumer,” as the facility calls its residents, that took place after lunchtime on Jan. 14, 2015. State police said a 22-year-old male consumer told police Beaulieu and Kennedy punched him repeatedly.

“There was a verbal exchange between the consumer and (Beaulieu), and the final allegations were that (Beaulieu) punched the consumer once or twice in the face, which resulted in a black eye,” Franklin County District Attorney Craig Carriero said.

Beaulieu pleaded guilty in Franklin County court in November. He was sentenced Monday to five years’ probation with the first 180 days in Franklin County Jail, but the 180-day jail sentence was stayed until Dec. 31, 2016. Because Beaulieu is a St. Lawrence County resident, Carriero said his probation and supervision is likely to be transferred to St. Lawrence County, and if he abides by the terms of his probation, his lawyer will be able to motion to extend the stay. He is no longer employed by the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, which runs Sunmount.

Kennedy voluntarily resigned from Sunmount, pleaded guilty to the assault charge in Tupper Lake town court and was sentenced in May to a one-year conditional discharge, Carriero said.

Sixteen Sunmount staff members were arrested during 2015 on charges similar to those faced by Beaulieu and Kennedy, although many of the incidents the charges stem from were from prior years. Four Sunmount residents were arrested for charges such as assault and falsely alleging assault as well. In early 2015, Civil Service Employee Association representatives said the demands brought on by a staffing shortage and the resulting mandated overtime had left Sunmount workers exhausted, dispirited and prone to making mistakes with the people in their care. The CSEA reps criticized the state Justice Center’s investigations for the length of time they place employees on administrative leave for complaints of abuse that are later found to be unsubstantiated. Such investigations can last for months at a time, which they said only compounds the overtime crisis. In May, OPWDD announced it would hire about 44 additional staff members at Sunmount, which employed 1,600 people in 2014.

“OPWDD takes the safety and well-being of the individuals we support very seriously,” OPWDD Director of Communications Jennifer O’Sullivan wrote via email regarding the incident and convictions. “Any abuse or failure to report abuse is completely unacceptable.”