Maya Kowalski's Social Worker Cathi Bedi Was Arrested In 2007
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The new Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya follows the troubling story of the Kowalski family, who brought their daughter Maya to a hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida in late 2016, and then had to fight to regain custody of her. Maya Kowalski, the daughter of Beata and Jack Kowalski, was removed from her parents' care for over 90 days as a result of child abuse accusations. The then-10-year-old girl was living with a rare chronic disease called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for a flair up in October 2016.
Complex regional pain syndrome is a notoriously difficult disease to understand, and doctors at All Children's were unfamiliar with Maya's condition. At the time, Maya had been taking doses of ketamine to alleviate her symptoms, per the recommendation of CRPS specialist Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick.
Beata Kowalski's insistence that Maya needed a high infusion of ketamine made the All Children's doctors suspicious. The hospital consulted with Dr. Sally Smith, a doctor for child protective services, who opened an abuse investigation and eventually misdiagnosed Maya, saying her symptoms were caused by Munchausen's by proxy.
While legal proceedings over her suspected abuse case were taking place, Maya was removed from her parents, and placed under the care of social worker Catherine "Cathi" Bedy at the hospital. Here is everything to know about Cathi Bedy, and where she is now:
Who is Cathi Bedy?
Bedy is a social worker who was assigned to Maya Kowalski's case in St. Petersburg. She previously managed foster care children for the Suncoast Center for Community Health.
While working for Suncoast, Bedy used harmful tactics for controlling a 10-year-old boy's behavior, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The outlet reported that Bedy "grabbed the boy's head, causing him to fall down" and then "placed both knees on the boy's chest."
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NetflixThe boy reportedly told Bedy that he couldn't breathe, to which she replied, "Yes you can," according to the affidavit, per the Tampa Bay Times. The other therapist on scene also reportedly covered the boy's face with a towel.
Both woman were arrested and charged with one felony count of child abuse. Bedy denied using her knees on the child in her deposition, per The Cut. The charges were later dropped, per the documentary.
What happened when Bedy was assigned to Maya's case?
From the moment she was assigned to Maya's case, Jack Kowalski said "something didn't seem right," about Bedy, per the documentary. The Kowalskis googled her, and discovered her criminal record. However, Maya's parents were powerless in reassigning Maya to a different social worker.
In the documentary, clips from Maya's court depositions say that Bedy would place Maya on her lap and hug her. Once, in January 2017, Maya claimed Bedy forced her to remove her clothes, stripping Maya down to a sports bra and shorts. Bedy reportedly needed to take photos of Maya for risk management, and threatened Maya by telling her that if she didn't comply with the pictures, Maya would be barred from attending court and seeing her mother. Maya reported that Bedy had to"[hold] her down" because she didn't want the pictures to be taken, per the doc.
"I was screaming, crying, yelling 'no,' Maya said in a deposition featured in the documentary. "I could not have made it any more clear [that I wanted her to stop]."
Beata and Jack Kowalski were not informed that Bedy was taking these pictures of Maya. When a prosecutor interrogated Bedy about the situation in a deposition, asking if she took the photos with knowledge that Maya was uncomfortable, she replied: "Unfortunately, yes," per the documentary.
The Kowalski's lawsuit against Bedy is ongoing.
According to The Cut, the Kowalskis sued Cathi Bedy in 2018, along with with All Children's hospital and others involved in Maya's case. The case between Bedy and the Kowalskis is still ongoing.
According to Psychology Today, Bedy is still an active social worker, and does counseling through the CVS MinuteClinic. She currently lives in Clearwater, Florida, per her LinkedIn page.
To learn more about Cathi Bedy, and Maya Kowalski's case, you can stream Take Care of Maya on Netflix now.
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