Overview
- The Suffolk County Special Victims Unit arrested Bruno Valenzuela at his Brentwood home and charged him with a class E felony for endangering an incompetent or physically disabled person, as well as child endangerment.
- Prosecutors say surveillance video from Dec. 20 shows Valenzuela slapping, shaking and handling the nonverbal child with cerebral palsy during in‑home care in Port Jefferson Station.
- The child was evaluated at Stony Brook University Hospital on Dec. 22 with bruising and other findings, and the family filed a police report that launched the investigation.
- Valenzuela pleaded not guilty at his Central Islip arraignment and was released under GPS monitoring with a temporary order of protection barring contact with the child.
- The Christian Nursing Registry says it terminated Valenzuela and reported him to state licensing authorities, while police asked potential additional victims to contact the Special Victims Unit; the child’s father questions the timing of the arrest, which police say was not influenced by media coverage.