A trusted caregiver hired to protect a severely disabled child is now accused of turning violent inside a quiet Port Jefferson home.
Police say Bruno Valenzuela, 31, was caring for a 5-year-old child with cerebral palsy on the afternoon of Dec. 20th, 2025.
Instead, detectives allege the nursing aide reacted with aggression when the child began coughing and crying. According to investigators, Valenzuela repeatedly slapped the child forcefully in the back and chest, leaving visible bruises.
The child’s family rushed the young victim to Stony Brook University Hospital two days after the alleged attack.
"I'm very upset what happened to my son, I'm very upset what happened to my son, you know, he is the center of our lives and you know we trusted this nurse who has been with us for three years," said the victim's father, Christopher Bower, to 1010 WINS.
The case was taken over by Suffolk County Police Department Special Victims Unit detectives, who launched an investigation into the alleged abuse.
Valenzuela was arrested at his Brentwood home on Dekalb Avenue and charged with Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person, a felony, as well as Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He was held at the Third Precinct.
Valenzuela is no longer employed by the Christian Nursing Registry, which placed him in the home.
"If you asked me five days before this happened, I tell you he's an amazing person, that he never had any indication that he was doing anything like this or was even capable of it," added Brower.
Detectives urge anyone who believes a family member may have been harmed by Valenzuela to contact the Special Victims Section at 631-852-6184.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.