Queen Creek Autism Therapist Accused of Hurling Child, Yoga Ball at Head

A Queen Creek mother trusted Action Behavior Centers to care for her nonverbal 5-year-old autistic son, but police say the woman assigned to help him instead hurt him during sessions at the clinic. Khamara Holmes, who worked as a registered behavior technician at the center, now faces two counts of aggravated assault tied to allegations involving multiple children in her care.

According to police documents cited by AZ Family, Holmes allegedly picked the 5-year-old boy up by his wrists and tried to throw a large yoga ball at his head. Because the boy is nonverbal, his mother said he could not tell her what had happened to him during his time at the clinic. The allegations first came to light through the outlet's reporting, which remains the primary account of the case as it moves through the legal system.

Court records reviewed by the station describe a second incident in which another child was allegedly thrown into a bathroom. Police documents also indicate Holmes allegedly threw a child to the ground during a separate episode. Action Behavior Centers did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations, the station's report notes.

How the Charges Escalated to Felony Level

The two aggravated assault counts Holmes now faces reflect a specific legal threshold under Arizona law. Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-1204, a misdemeanor assault charge escalates to felony aggravated assault when committed by an adult against a minor under 15, or against a victim whose capacity to resist is substantially impaired. Felony aggravated assault involving child victims in Arizona can carry sentences ranging from Class 6 to Class 2 felonies, according to the Salwin Law Group.

The Queen Creek clinic where the alleged incidents occurred, located at 22363 E. Domingo Road, offers one-on-one early-intervention Applied Behavior Analysis therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder between 18 months and 8 years old, per Action Behavior Centers. That model relies on individualized intervention plans overseen by clinical supervisors, a structure meant to protect some of the most vulnerable children receiving therapy in the East Valley.

Strict Rules Govern Behavior Technicians

Registered behavior technicians like Holmes are certified paraprofessionals overseen by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, and they are required to work under mandatory ongoing supervision. At least 5% of an RBT's monthly service hours must be directly supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, according to the board's own handbook, with supervisors required to conduct direct observations and monitor treatment fidelity every month.

The BACB's RBT Ethics Code also mandates that certified technicians immediately report any criminal charges or arrests to their supervisors and to the board's Ethics Department, which can issue summary suspensions or revoke credentials entirely. In Arizona, Board Certified Behavior Analysts are licensed through the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners, and technicians must keep their national BACB certification in good standing to legally practice in the state, according to Special Learning. The state enacted behavior analyst licensure in 2010 to regulate practice standards across its clinics.

A Rapidly Growing, Private-Equity-Backed Provider

Action Behavior Centers has grown far beyond its Queen Creek location. The company was acquired in September 2022 by Boston-based private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners in an $840 million deal, and it has since become the largest center-based autism therapy provider in the country, operating more than 400 clinics across nine states as of this year, according to Breaking News ABA. Founded in Austin in 2016, the company grew from five Texas locations in 2018 into its current nationwide footprint.

That expansion has drawn scrutiny. Industry healthcare reports this year have highlighted growing concern from clinicians and advocacy groups over rapid private equity roll-ups in the ABA industry, questioning whether clinical quality and safety protocols can keep pace with aggressive scaling, per Acuity News. Action Behavior Centers was also involved in Maricopa County Superior Court litigation earlier this year after the state Medicaid insurer Mercy Care terminated provider contracts with the company, a dispute that affected hundreds of autistic children seeking therapy transitions in Arizona, according to the Arizona Capitol Times.

Queen Creek itself is a fast-growing East Valley suburb with a median household income above $158,000 and crime rates well below the state average, conditions that have fueled high local demand for pediatric healthcare and therapy services, according to AreaVibes. That demand has helped drive the kind of rapid clinic expansion now under industry-wide scrutiny. It remains unclear what internal oversight measures, if any, were in place at the Queen Creek center regarding staff conduct before the allegations against Holmes surfaced.