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A Port Jefferson in-home caregiver faces criminal charges after Suffolk County police said he violently slapped a severely disabled 5-year-old child under his care.
Bruno Valenzuela, 31, who has since been fired by the Christian Nursing Registry in Smithtown, struck the child, who has cerebral palsy and had been in the defendant’s care for over three years, hard on the chest and back on Dec. 20 about 12:35 p.m, police said.
Surveillance video shows the child coughing and crying, as a caregiver slaps him hard on the chest and back. Suffolk Police said the aide in the video is Valenzuela, a Brentwood resident who has been charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and endangering the welfare of a child.
The alleged attack left bruises on the boy, police said. The child’s mom and dad grew suspicious and checked their surveillance recording system after seeing their son act strangely during Valenzuela’s next visit to the home.
Surveillance video captures incident
The Instagram post below contains video of the alleged abuse of the boy.
The parents took the child to Stony Brook University Hospital two days later, where his injuries were evaluated. Suffolk Police launched an investigation that led to the Thursday night arest of Valenzuela at his home.
Valenzuela pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday at Suffolk County First District Court in Central Islip and was released under non-monetary conditions.
Camille Harlow, director at Christian Nursing Registry, told Greater Long Island she reviewed the surveillance video with the child’s parents within days of the incident and that Valenzuela was immediately let go by the agency. She also reported him that day to the state licensing department.
Was part of the family
Harlow explained that Valenzuela had worked with the family for more than three years and was “like part of the family.”
The family — the dad is a police detective — has used the Christian Nursing Registry since the child was a newborn, she said. Additionally, the boy’s parents remain clients of the registry and a new in-home caregiver has been assigned to the child, Harlow said.
“We were horrified. It’s never happened — nothing like this in 38 years. We are a pediatric agency,” Harlow said.
She said the father reviewed past video footage and saw no previous issues.
“From what we can tell, this was a one-time incident,” Harlow said. “We’re thinking that he just snapped.”
Police are asking anyone who believes a family member may have been victimized by Valenzuela to contact the Special Victims Section at 631.852.6184.
