BOERNE, Texas — Parents of a 2-year-old allegedly assaulted by her pre-school teacher are speaking out after his arrest.
On Tuesday, Bexar County deputies walked 29-year-old Alfredo Xavier Marmolejo off in handcuffs. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail on three counts of injury to a child for an incident back on November 14.
Child Safe Investigators were called to Excelled Montessori Preschool in Boerne after Marmolejo used force on three 2-year-old children.
The parents KENS 5 spoke to said their daughter was one of the victims. They asked to remain anonymous.
The couple said their daughter is doing OK but showed discomfort around the time of the alleged assault.
“My daughter was slammed across the room by a grown a** man,” one parent said.
They said on November 18 they got a call from the school explaining that they had fired her teacher for acting too aggressively towards their daughter. They said they did not know the full extent of what happened and that other children were also reportedly harmed.
“What we’re being told is that she was aggressively picked up underneath the arm like up off her feet then dragged over to a chair and forcefully slammed into a chair,” the parents said.
They said they are shocked since they always had positive interactions with Marmolejo. They said just last month, he was awarded teacher of the month. But those feelings have since changed.
“You put on a really really good face and that is really S*****,” one parent said.
According to the arrest warrant, Marmolejo is caught on surveillance cameras slapping another child on the back of the head, causing them to fall. It states he ran into a third child, causing them to hit their head on a table. They are seen on video rubbing their head, indicating they are hurt.
However, the warrant states Marmolejo never checked on any of the children. When asked by investigators what happened, it states he said his emotions got the best of him and he did not think what happened in the classroom was “that bad."
“3 times in one day? How many more times did they not catch,” the parents asked.
These parents chose to take their child out of the pre-school, causing one of them to stay at home with her instead of working. They said they simply can’t trust anyone.
“I can’t believe that you did this to our sweet, kind, helpful little girl,” one parent said. “I can’t believe it and I don’t want to believe it.”
The couple is waiting to see the surveillance video for themselves.
The school released a statement to KENS 5 reading in part, “As soon as we became aware of this situation, we took immediate and decisive actions.”
The pre-school added they are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Marmolejo had his bond set to $150,000 for all three charges but posted bail Wednesday afternoon, according to online records.