A staff member at Shrub Oak International School in Mohegan Lake has been charged after police say he abused a student with disabilities last fall, an incident that is once again putting the private campus and its oversight under the microscope.
What Police Allege
Yorktown detectives say their investigation began after officers responded to a welfare report on Nov. 19, 2025. According to police, investigators later developed evidence that employee Oscar G. Vigil slapped the student, forced food on the student and committed other acts that posed a risk to the student’s safety.
Vigil, 24, surrendered to Yorktown police on May 7. Officers arrested him, a temporary order of protection was issued on behalf of the student, and Vigil was released on his own recognizance. He is set to appear in Yorktown Justice Court on June 4, according to Rivertowns Daily Voice.
Court Status and School Response
News 12 New York reports that Vigil faces a charge of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person and that the station has reached out to the school for comment.
On its own site, Shrub Oak International School says staff receive Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training and notes that the campus is monitored by more than 500 security cameras. As of the latest reports, school leaders had not publicly commented on Vigil’s case.
Pattern of Complaints at Shrub Oak
The new charge is landing at a school that has already been facing tough questions. A 2024 ProPublica investigation and related court filings described allegations that state education officials were slow to turn over records and outlined complaints involving issues such as medication errors and alleged neglect.
Local coverage has also tracked other recent staff arrests at the campus. One case involved an October to November 2025 incident in which a different employee was accused of obstructing a disabled student’s breathing, according to Patch. Advocates say the latest allegation is likely to fuel renewed calls for tighter oversight of privately run programs that educate publicly funded students.
Legal Implications
Under New York law, second-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person is defined in Penal Law §260.24 and classified as a class A misdemeanor, according to the New York Courts’ Penal Law guide. Higher degrees of the offense cover knowing conduct or more serious injury and carry potential felony exposure, and prosecutors could seek more serious charges if additional evidence emerges. For now, the early stages of the case will play out in Yorktown Justice Court as the investigation continues.
