Yahnae Clegg-Brown and Naiyr "Hasan" Sanders are being charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, as well as abuse of a care-dependent person, officials announced on Thursday.
Police responded to a home in Colwyn on April 25 after someone called to report what appeared to be a juvenile who had been crying on the steps outside a residence for several hours. The caller allegedly told police they thought the person may be locked out of the home.
Officials say it was roughly 40 degrees and steadily raining outside at the time of the incident.
Officers learned that the person who was seen outside was not a juvenile, but instead a 20-year-old woman with Down syndrome, who was in the care of Clegg-Brown and Sanders.
Responding officers then located the woman behind the home said she appeared to be in distress, visibly soaked "from head to toe" and holding a trash bag full of clothes.
Once back inside, the woman allegedly told officers that she was injured and EMS was called.
Officials say she suffered from injuries to her right eye, had multiple marks on her body and was malnourished.
Investigators say the victim had been "systemically underfed and assaulted," alleging that Sanders and Clegg-Brown would routinely deny the victim food and assault her.
The victim was allegedly forced to stay in a room that had bunk beds with no sheets, blankets or pillows, and had a deteriorating mattress, officials say.
Video footage recovered from inside the home allegedly shows Sanders pushing the victim down concrete steps and shutting the door in her face. Another video also allegedly shows Sanders punching the victim in the right side of her face.
"It is heartbreaking to see a vulnerable member of our community suffer the abuse and neglect described in this case. Those entrusted with another person's care have a responsibility to protect them," District Attorney Tanner Rouse said. "To have systematically abused a young woman in this way is beyond comprehension."
Sanders and Clegg-Brown were both arrested on Tuesday. Their bail has been set at 10% of $250,000, and are being held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.
Their next hearing is scheduled for July 16.
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information on this case is asked to call Sgt. Steve Banner at 610-891-4700.