A man was arrested on suspicion of abusing a 4-year-old boy with autism at a developmental preschool in Mesa.

On Feb. 17, Mesa police officers responded to a child abuse call at S.E.E.K. Arizona East, located on Alma School and Baseline roads in Mesa, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Mesa Police Department.

S.E.E.K. (Specializing in the Education of Exceptional Kids) Arizona East is an organization that provides behavioral health services, professional therapies and direct care supports to both children and adults, according to the institute’s website.

The police identified a behavioral health technician, 29-year-old Kyle McKee who was the sole care provider of a non-verbal 4-year-old boy with autism, as a suspect in child abuse, according to the statement.

S.E.E.K. Arizona East provided officers with five video recordings showing McKee and the boy alone in a classroom on four different days between January 18 and February 16, police said. 

The videos showed McKee physically abusing the boy by hitting him with an open palm, pushing him at least five times into walls and down to the ground, picking him up and throwing him, squishing him between a door and a wall, and kicking him in the chest, according to a probable cause statement police filed in court.

The boy sustained an abrasion to his face from one of the incidents but had no serious physical injuries from the other events, according to the statement and court documents.

S.E.E.K. Arizona said in a statement that their management team began reviewing McKee’s sessions with the child after talking with the child’s parents, and reported it to police and other agencies. 

“The employee – who had been background-checked, fingerprinted, and held a professional certification – had worked with S.E.E.K. since July 2018 without incident.  We terminated the employee immediately, without this person ever seeing another client.  The S.E.E.K. team will continue to cooperate with the state agencies and law enforcement to the greatest extent possible moving forward,” the statement said. 

McKee was charged with four counts of child abuse, the statement said.

McKee self-surrendered into custody on Tuesday and was released from custody with an ankle monitor on Wednesday, the statement said.

Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at [email protected] or on Twitter @peiyulintw.

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