{"id":1575,"date":"2026-06-05T19:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1575"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:36:28","slug":"therapist-accused-of-kicking-autistic-5-year-old-at-peoria-care-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1575","title":{"rendered":"Therapist accused of kicking autistic 5-year-old at Peoria care facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A now-former behavioral therapist is accused of kicking an autistic child in the face during a one-on-one session at a care facility in Peoria.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson Now: The Salvation Army\u2019s historical tie to Donut Day<\/a><\/p>\n

Peoria police arrested 42-year-old Adolfo Salas of Glendale on felony charges of child abuse and aggravated assault of a minor, according to newly released court documents.<\/p>\n

The alleged incident happened just before 2 p.m. at Soar Autism Center, located on 83rd Avenue near Bell Road. Police were notified that an employee, a master registered behavioral technician (RBT), had kicked a 5-year-old, non-verbal child in the face.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, staff provided surveillance video of the encounter to police. The video reportedly shows the crying child picking up trash from the floor and placing it in a trash can. Salas, who was seen kneeling down next to the child, grabbed the trash can and said \u201cthank you\u201d as he stood.<\/p>\n

While the child is still on his hands and knees, documents say Salas is seen drawing his right leg back and extending it toward the child\u2019s head. Although the child is not visible because the camera was positioned behind Salas, officers said the child can be heard crying.<\/p>\n

Police said the footage then shows Salas staring at the child, who appeared to go into an \u201cemotional crisis.\u201d The child is reportedly seen spitting on Salas and throwing objects at him before Salas backed the boy against the wall.<\/p>\n

During the incident, Salas reportedly used a tablet to send an \u201cSOS\u201d message to another employee, who soon entered the room. Documents say Salas told his coworker, \u201cI accidentally kicked him in the face,\u201d adding that he meant to kick a chair out of the way but struck the child instead.<\/p>\n

Salas was told to leave the room while the other employee consoled the child, who police said appeared visibly upset.<\/p>\n

The 5-year-old was taken to a hospital and treated for a small bruise beneath his left eye.<\/p>\n

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Peoria police said the department\u2019s SWAT team took Salas into custody at his home Thursday. Investigators said he declined to answer questions and requested an attorney.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors with the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office asked that Salas\u2019 bond be set at $100,000 due to the circumstances behind the incident. <\/p>\n

\u201cHad there not been some sort of video recording, which did allegedly record the incident, there was no way for this child to be able to tell anyone about the assault,\u201d said Ashley Stetson of the Maricopa County Attorney\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n

A judge ultimately set Salas\u2019 bond at $5,000 with a stipulation that if released, he must wear a monitoring ankle bracelet. He is not allowed to go back to the care center, where he no longer works. <\/p>\n

Salas will again appear in front of a judge on June 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have zero tolerance for this and any behavior that compromises the safety or well-being of the children entrusted to our care,\u201d said a portion of a message sent to Soar families.<\/p>\n

The message also said that staff took immediate action in firing Salas and notifying police.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Read more Former funeral home director sentenced for hiding corpse for more than 2 decades<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A now-former behavioral therapist is accused of kicking an autistic child in the face during a one-on-one session at a care facility in Peoria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTherapist accused of kicking autistic 5-year-old at Peoria care facility - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1575\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Therapist accused of kicking autistic 5-year-old at Peoria care facility - 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