DADI.org

By Jenn Abelson, Boston Globe Staff, 10/24/2003

Each morning, as a Quincy mother and her severely autistic 11-year-old son waited for a school van, a neighbor walked past with a barking dog, knowing it frightened the boy and made him shriek and wet his pants, according to the attorney general's office.

One time, the state alleges, Eleanor Pimentel, 41, blocked the boy from boarding the van, calling him a "retard" and telling his mother she was "sick of that animal bringing down her property values."

The boy's mother twice contacted Quincy police, who referred her to the attorney general's office. Yesterday, the office filed a complaint in Norfolk Superior Court seeking a civil rights injunction to prevent Pimentel from verbally abusing and harassing the boy.

The injunction, a version of a restraining order, would indefinitely prohibit Pimentel from coming within 200 feet of the boy and his mother's house and forbid Pimentel from communicating, threatening, or intimidating the boy, his mother, or anybody with disabilities.

Sarah Nathan, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, said that the office does not plan to seek criminal charges against Pimentel at this time, but that a violation of the injunction would constitute a criminal offense, with a judge determining the penalty based on the violation. A hearing on the injunction request is scheduled for Nov. 10.

"She's interfering with his education, with his life," said the Quincy boy's mother, who has four children, including 11-year-old autistic twins. She said Pimentel focused on the twin who was more severely autistic and, unlike his brother, clearly disabled. "She needs to get a life and stay away from my kids."

In the complaint released to the media, the attorney general's office withheld the names of the autistic boy and his mother, who spoke by phone with the Globe on condition that their names not be used. The mother said she hopes there will be no need to pursue criminal charges, adding, "I didn't even want to let it get this far."

A man who identified himself as Pimentel's husband answered the phone at her home yesterday and said she would not comment. Her lawyer, Christopher DiOrio, described his client as "shocked and dismayed" and said she denies all the allegations.

"I'm amazed the attorney general's office has chosen to get themselves involved in this matter," DiOrio said.

Officials at the attorney general's office said they are seeking the injunction because Pimentel disregarded repeated warnings from Quincy police to stay away from the boy and his family and because they feared her actions were harming the child.

"We felt a need to move to protect the child and the family," said Alice Moore, chief of the attorney general's public protection bureau.

She said the office has previously dealt with cases in which the disabled are targeted for abuse. "Litigation is a last tool," Moore said. "We really work though education, training, and mediation."

Pimentel's backyard abuts the backyard of the family with the autistic boy, according to the complaint, which also accuses her of yelling profanities at the boy while he played outside.

In one incident while the boy and his mother were waiting for the van in front of their house, the complaint said, Pimentel came up with her dog, called the boy names, and said, "This is what animals do," before allowing her dog to defecate in the family's yard.

The more Pimentel yelled, the more her dog barked, and the more out of control the boy became, the complaint said.

In the interview, the boy's mother said she first contacted Quincy police on Aug. 13, reporting that Pimentel had blocked her son from boarding the school van. After finally getting the boy on the van, the mother said, Pimentel followed her into the entrance of the family's house, and she quickly closed and locked the door before Pimentel could fully get inside.

According to the complaint, Pimentel then screamed through the door, with the dog at her side, "This is not over!"

The following day, according to the complaint, a Quincy police officer visited Pimentel and told her not to walk her dog in front of the boy's house, but she argued with the officer, who tried to lead her away. Pimentel then left the police officer and approached the van where the boy's mother was talking with the driver.

Pimentel yelled and threatened to dump bags of dog feces she was holding on the family's yard. The boy's mother requested help from the police officer, who escorted Pimentel to her home "quite agitated, and seemingly on the verge of becoming violent," according to the complaint.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.