Overview
- A master registered behavioral technician at Soar Autism Center is accused of kicking a non-verbal 5-year-old during a one-on-one session, and staff surveillance video was handed to police.
- Court documents describe footage showing the employee drawing his right leg back and extending it toward the child’s head while the child was on his hands and knees.
- The child was visibly upset, was taken to a hospital and treated for a small bruise beneath the left eye.
- Peoria police arrested 42-year-old Adolfo Salas at his home after sending a SWAT team, and investigators say he declined to answer questions and requested an attorney; he told a coworker he 'accidentally kicked him in the face.'
- Prosecutors filed felony child-abuse and aggravated-assault charges, sought a $100,000 bond, and a judge set bond at $5,000 with a monitoring ankle bracelet as the case proceeds; Soar fired Salas and told families it has zero tolerance for behavior that risks child safety.