Behavior Technician Charged With Aggravated Assault at Queen Creek Therapy Center

A behavior technician who worked at an autism therapy center in Queen Creek has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault involving children in her care.

Khamara Holmes was charged following an investigation by the Queen Creek Police Department. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31.

What the charging documents allege

According to court documents, Holmes threw a yoga ball at the head of a 5-year-old boy, grabbed him by the wrists and threw him to the ground. The documents also allege she grabbed a second child by the wrists and threw that child into a bathroom.

Witnesses told investigators that Holmes yelled at a child to "shut up," and that she later said she had been hurting children throughout the day. Those accounts appear in the record as allegations by witnesses and have not been tested in court.

The children have not been identified. One is described in the documents as 5 years old; the age of the second was not given.

The mother of one of the children told a television reporter her reaction on learning what was alleged: "My heart fell in my stomach. Because who's going to do that to a kid?"

The employer

The center is operated by Action Behavior Centers, which provides applied behavior analysis therapy for children with autism. The company did not respond to questions about whether Holmes remains employed there or was dismissed.

Where the case stands

Holmes has not entered a plea. She is charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. Charging documents set out what prosecutors allege, not what a court has found.

The Aug. 31 preliminary hearing is the point at which a judge considers whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed.

Sources

https://www.azfamily.com/2026/08/26/queen-creek-autism-therapy-worker-accused-assaulting-children-her-care/