Jan Berrios-Otero

Introduction

Jan Carlos Berrios-Otero is a 29-year-old former employee of the BrightPath Avon Early Learning and Child Care Center in Avon, Connecticut, who was arrested on April 1, 2026, after an administrator at the center contacted police about possible inappropriate contact involving a child. Per police, he was seen on video lying next to a child with his hand under a blanket that was over the child, and he faces multiple charges of fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, plus aggravated sexual assault of a minor due to the number of victims under the age of 13. Investigators said he sexually assaulted at least half a dozen young children at the Avon daycare.

Berrios-Otero faced a judge on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, and has yet to enter a plea. The allegations against him are accusations from police and charging documents, not established facts; the criminal case is pending and unadjudicated. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, and charges are not convictions.

Background Information

Berrios-Otero started working at BrightPath in January 2022. According to a message the company sent to parents, he also filled in at BrightPath locations in Simsbury, at 555 Day Hill Road in Windsor, and on Park Road in West Hartford. The company said it is not aware of any allegations or complaints at those locations.

According to the warrants, police identified six incidents involving five children, described in the documents as boys between the ages of about 3 and 5, at the BrightPath facility on Simsbury Road in Avon. These are allegations from warrant documents prepared by police; Berrios-Otero has not admitted them, and they remain unproven in court.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The following are allegations from police and charging documents. They have never been admitted by Berrios-Otero, have not been proven in court, and are attributed to investigators. The criminal case is pending, and he has yet to enter a plea. No defense statement is reported in available coverage. He is presumed innocent, and charges are not convictions.

Berrios-Otero was arrested on April 1, 2026, after an administrator at the BrightPath Avon center contacted police about possible inappropriate contact involving a child. Police investigated and said he was seen on video lying next to a child with his hand under a blanket that was over the child. He was charged a second time for alleged incidents involving other children.

Per the warrants, police identified six incidents involving five boys between the ages of about 3 and 5 at the facility on Simsbury Road in Avon. He faces six sexual assault charges based on accusations of inappropriately touching young children at the Avon daycare, per Avon police, and is also charged with aggravated sexual assault of a minor due to the number of victims under 13.

BrightPath later told parents it had reviewed its records, found that Berrios-Otero had filled in at Simsbury, Windsor, and West Hartford locations, and was not aware of allegations or complaints at those sites. The company said it shared the information with law enforcement, the Department of Children and Families, and the Office of Early Childhood, and that it would close the Avon location on May 22.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The arrests prompted civil litigation by affected families, and attorneys representing them announced in September 2026 that they anticipate a significant expansion of that litigation, with additional legal actions to be filed. Eric Schoenberg of the Freeman Law Firm and attorney Sarah Klein asked former BrightPath employees to come forward, saying those workers saw things and can speak in a way the children — some as young as 3 — simply can’t.

Schoenberg said the anticipated filings will substantially increase the scope of the pending civil litigation. “There will be a significant expansion of litigation in the coming weeks,” he said. “The cases currently pending merely scratch the surface of the full scope of this situation. We are preparing additional legal actions. The number of cases before the court will grow substantially.”

Klein encouraged former employees to contact the legal team even if they are uncertain whether what they know is significant. “For months, we have been trying to understand not only what happened to these children, but how it was able to happen inside a daycare where parents believed their children were being watched and protected,” she said. “Former employees may have information that is critical to answering those questions.”

The announcement came as another significant change occurred at the closed Avon facility.

Current Status

Berrios-Otero faced a judge on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, and has yet to enter a plea. The criminal charges against him remain pending and unadjudicated; the allegations come from police and charging documents, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, and charges are not convictions. No defense statement is reported in available coverage.

On the civil side, Schoenberg said that as of September 4, 2026, a significant number of individuals who worked at the Avon location at the time of the arrest are no longer employed by BrightPath/Busy Bees, a change attorneys hope will free former employees to speak. Additional legal actions are being prepared.

The BrightPath Avon facility closed on May 22, 2026, as the company had told parents.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Berrios-Otero’s career in early childhood care ended with his April 2026 arrest. He is now a former daycare worker facing six sexual assault charges plus an aggravated sexual assault charge tied to the number of alleged victims under 13, and his criminal case remains pending. The Avon center where he worked closed permanently in May 2026, and many colleagues from the time of the arrest have since left BrightPath/Busy Bees.

The fallout extends beyond him. Families have filed civil litigation that their attorneys describe as only the beginning, former BrightPath employees are being sought as witnesses, and the case has raised questions about how the alleged conduct went undetected in a daycare where parents believed their children were being watched and protected. Until the criminal case is resolved, Berrios-Otero remains legally presumed innocent, and the outcome of both proceedings remains to be seen.