The owner of Brighter Angels Learning Center has been found guilty of covering up abuse at his daycare center.
Ruben Sandoval was found guilty of failing to report child abuse after one of his daycare workers hit a child with a broom in February 2017.
Phoenix police said officers responded to the Brighter Angels Learning Center near Central Avenue and Baseline Road on February 17 for a report of an injured child.
When officers arrived on the scene they found evidence that 37-year-old Lillie Adams struck a 21-month-old child with a broom while she was cleaning with 10 toddlers in the room.
According to a police report, Adam was sweeping the room and accidentally knocked over a toy kitchen set. The victim crawled under a table and when he refused to move, the suspect allegedly hit the child in the face two times with the broom.
Police then arrested Perla Denise Sierra Duarte, 26, and Ruben Sandoval, 51, after both are accused of hindering prosecution and failing to accurately report the injury to police. Sierra Duarte is the director of the preschool, and Sandoval is the owner.
This Brighter Angels location is also not the only one Sandoval is listed as the owner of, according to the Arizona Corporation Commission.
He is listed in owning at least five different locations: Tempe (630 W. 17th Place, Tempe AZ 85287), Scottsdale (4856 E. Greenway Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254), Glendale (10417 W. Georgia Avenue, Glendale AZ 85307), Phoenix (7727 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85042) and Buckeye (19924 W. Cambridge Avenue, Buckeye AZ 85396).
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