PEORIA, Ariz — A surveillance video showing a therapist kicking a 5-year-old nonverbal child with autism in the face has led to the employee’s arrest and termination, leaving the boy’s family outraged and searching for answers.
The incident occurred Monday afternoon inside a classroom at Soar Autism Center in Peoria. According to the child’s family and police, therapist Adolfo Salas was captured on surveillance footage kicking the child in the face during an interaction that left the boy with bruising and swelling.
The child’s grandmother, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the family was devastated after learning what happened.
“He’s a sweet boy, and for him to be kicked in the face, I felt his pain,” she said.
The surveillance video begins with Salas directing the child to pick up trash from the classroom floor. Moments later, Salas is seen lifting a trash can before kicking the boy in the face with his right foot.
The child’s grandmother said the boy appeared upset following the kick and reacted by throwing a backpack back toward the therapist and kicking a chair.
“He kind of moves back, and then the backpack hits him in the face, and it’s a heavy backpack,” she said. “He picked that backpack up and threw it back at the technician because he’s upset. Then he kicks a chair toward him.”
The video shows that another staff member entered the room about a minute later. The surveillance footage allegedly captures Salas admitting that he had kicked the child before leaving the room.
The family said they were notified about the incident the following day. The grandmother said administrators at Soar Autism Center met with relatives, informed them that Salas had been terminated, and outlined plans to strengthen oversight and safety procedures.
In a statement, Ian Goldstein of Soar Autism Center said:
“Soar Autism Center takes the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care extremely seriously. We acted immediately: the family was notified, the matter was reported to the appropriate authorities, we are cooperating with the appropriate review process, we conducted an internal investigation, and the employee involved was removed from client care immediately and is no longer employed by Soar.”
Peoria police arrested Salas at his home Thursday morning. He was booked on child abuse and assault charges.
Salas was expected to appear before a judge Thursday evening for an initial appearance, where a bond amount would be determined.
The child’s family said they are relieved that Salas has been fired and arrested, but they hope he will never again be allowed to work with children.
“There’s not even any words I can say for a person hitting a child like that,” the boy’s grandmother said. “You should be ashamed of yourself, especially a child that has a disability and doesn’t understand what you’re doing to them.”
The family is now considering whether to continue sending the child to Soar Autism Center, a facility they said had been beneficial to his development before the incident occurred.
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