The Azores’ Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against four education aides, former employees of the Casa do Povo de Rabo de Peixe, for allegedly committing 16, 17, 8, and 3 counts of child maltreatment, respectively, according to a statement accessed today by the Lusa news agency.
The incidents reportedly began in 2015, with increased frequency noted in 2024 and the first half of 2025 at the Creche Centro de Apoio à Infância of that Casa do Povo, located in the parish of Rabo de Peixe, in the Ribeira Grande municipality, where the accused were employed.
The charges indicate the actions involved several children under their care, aged between 1 and 3 years.
The case was investigated by the Ribeira Grande division of the Azores Criminal Investigation Department on São Miguel Island.
On September 9, it was reported that the management of Casa de Povo de Rabo de Peixe terminated four employees accused of child maltreatment at the Centro de Apoio à Criança.
The employees, who received formal charges in July and were dismissed the following month for just cause, have appealed the decision to the Judicial Court of Ponta Delgada, according to the Açoriano Oriental newspaper.
On May 30, it was revealed by the newspaper that the Casa do Povo de Rabo de Peixe had filed a criminal complaint against four staff members for alleged mistreatment of children in their care, ranging from 1 to 3 years old.
On July 12, the Azores’ Social Security announced it would send the report of an inspection at the Rabo de Peixe daycare to the Public Prosecutor’s Office the following week, where the four employees were under investigation for alleged child maltreatment, stated Eduardo Nicolau, president of the Azores Social Security Institute (ISSA), to the Lusa agency at the time.
In July, a petition was launched by parents and the Rabo de Peixe community, gathering 2,661 signatures, addressed to the president of the Regional Government, the management of Casa do Povo de Rabo de Peixe, and the Parish Council of Rabo de Peixe, urging the “immediate suspension of the four employees named in the criminal complaint” during the “process and investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office”.
The document deemed it “unacceptable that, in the face of such serious accusations – presented by the employer itself – the employee(s) remain in their roles or in contact with minors”.
The images accessed by Notícias ao Minuto are shocking. They show slaps and shoving, as well as staff forcing children to ingest their own vomit and pushing food down their throats with utensil handles, involving children aged between 1 and 3 years.
Natacha Nunes Costa | 15:36 – 08/07/2025
