Former Colorado daycare employee arrested on suspicion of child abuse
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KRDO) – A former employee of a daycare in Centennial has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse and harassment, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) announced Wednesday.
Brandon Vigil, 32, turned himself into the Arapahoe County jail on Feb. 10. Investigators say he is charged with 28 counts of child abuse and another 32 counts of harassment.
Vigil was a preschool teacher in Centennial from February 2024 until he was fired on Sept. 6, 2024, the sheriff's office said. The specific daycare where he was employed has not yet been disclosed.
Investigators said on Sept. 5, the day before Vigil was fired, a teacher's aide reported that he seemed irritated and was "throwing things." According to the sheriff's office, there were 14 children, all two years old, in the classroom at the time. The aide reported that "Vigil was throwing sleeping pads around and appeared visibly upset that kids were in his way."
When one child did not move out of the way quickly enough, Vigil allegedly struck him with an open hand, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The child began to cry, to which "Vigil responded with a racial slur."
The teacher's aide that witnessed the incident immediately reported it to the director of the daycare and law enforcement officials. She told them that Vigil had been verbally abusive to kids in the past, but no other incidents were reported to law enforcement, the sheriff's office said.
Following the report, investigators began reviewing evidence from the daycare. The sheriff's office said they subsequently discovered "many instances of harmful, degrading, and humiliating actions" directed at the children in Vigil's care, who were all two years old.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone with more information about this case or who believes they or someone they know could be a potential victim of Vigil is asked to call ACSO's Investigations Tip Line at 720-874-8477.
