A Colorado daycare employee who was fired last fall when allegations of abuse surfaced has now been arrested on 51 misdemeanor child abuse charges.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office received a report of abuse on September 5 concerning an incident involving a 32-year-old man named Brandon Vigil. According to a substitute teacher’s aide, Vigil was seen being irritable and throwing things in a classroom filled with 14 toddlers.
Vigil was observed throwing sleeping pads and expressing frustration that the kids were in his way. The situation escalated when he allegedly struck a child with an open hand for not moving quickly enough, as reported by the sheriff’s office.
When the 2-year-old began to cry, Vigil responded by calling them a racial slur.
The aide who witnessed the incident was taken aback by Vigil’s behavior and promptly informed the daycare director and authorities. She mentioned that Vigil had previously shown verbal aggression towards the children under his supervision, although this was the first reported physical altercation. Despite this, Vigil was terminated from his position the day after the complaint was made.
When officials began an investigation, they “discovered many instances of harmful, degrading, and humiliating actions directing at the children, all two years old.”
Investigators eventually obtained a warrant charging Vigil with nine counts of class 1 misdemeanor child abuse, 19 counts of class 2 misdemeanor child abuse, and 23 counts of harassment, also a misdemeanor.
He turned himself in last month. The sheriff’s office did not identify the daycare facility involved.
