Nurse Caught on Camera Beating Disabled 5-Year-Old Boy

A Long Island nurse was arrested after disturbing surveillance video showed him violently slapping his disabled 5-year-old patient — but only after local media aired the footage and questioned why no charges had been filed weeks earlier.

Police arrested 31-year-old Bruno Valenzuela at his Brentwood home just after 9 p.m. Thursday, hours after News 12 Long Island broadcast the video and pressed authorities about the delay. The alleged assault occurred on Dec. 22 inside the family’s Port Jefferson home.

The video, obtained by The New York Post, shows a man in blue scrubs wearing headphones while the child cries. After initially ignoring the boy, the nurse appears to grow frustrated, then repeatedly strikes the child’s chest while yelling. The child, who is disabled, is lying in bed wearing only a diaper.

“It took news reports for the police to make an arrest for my son,” the boy’s father, Christopher Brower, told the outlet. Brower, an NYPD detective, said he decided to go public after weeks passed without an arrest.

According to Brower, investigators told him they needed a doctor to formally state that the force used by Valenzuela was not medically necessary — despite the incident being captured on video and leaving visible bruises on the child’s chest.

“I’ve made hundreds of arrests in my career,” Brower said. “I’ve never once heard that you need a doctor to tell you that beating and choking a child isn’t medically necessary.”

Brower also claimed a detective from the Special Victims Unit suggested the case might move slowly due to other priorities and an upcoming vacation, a response Brower said left him stunned and frustrated.

Valenzuela, who the family once trusted and described as “like family,” was immediately fired from his position with Christian Nursing Registry. He has since been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the nursing agency said the incident was unprecedented in its 38-year history. The company said Valenzuela had worked with the family for three and a half years and had previously maintained a positive relationship with them. The agency confirmed it terminated Valenzuela immediately and reported him to the state licensing department.

“We are heartbroken,” the statement said. “We love this child. We love this family.”

Valenzuela is scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk County court on Friday.

In response to criticism over the timing of the arrest, the Suffolk County Police Department said the case followed a thorough investigation and insisted media coverage did not influence the decision to take Valenzuela into custody.