Videos surface of large group sexually assaulting toddlers in Texas mall, FBI says
_fitted.png "A former mall worker, along with others, is accused of sexually assaulting children in public bathrooms at the Galleria in Houston, Texas, the FBI says.")
Disturbing videos emerged showing numerous men sexually assaulting toddlers at a Texas mall, leading to the arrest of a kiosk worker who friends trusted to watch the children, according to the FBI.
The bureau launched an investigation in early December after the videos were shared with agents by the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, according to a criminal complaint filed Dec. 14 in the Southern District of Texas. The videos were found on a “private, by invitation only” online forum.
Each video appears to capture a separate assault, some in different rooms or locations, including public bathrooms at the Galleria mall in Houston, investigators said. At least seven people could be seen abusing the children or heard talking in the videos, according to court documents.
Arthur Hector Fernandez worked at a kiosk at the Galleria and was friends with two women who also had jobs at the mall, often offering to watch their kids for them while they worked, the FBI said. Fernandez even took one of the toddlers trick-or-treating in October, documents said.
The children, who were both under 3 years old, were assaulted in the videos, documents said.
McClatchy News reached out to an attorney representing Fernandez but did not immediately receive a response.
Investigators were able to close in on Fernandez by using “an open-source image repository” to search for the face of one of the toddlers, which matched images shared on social media by one of the women, the FBI said.
Investigators showed her “sanitized” images taken from the videos, and something caught her eye — a distinctive pair of bracelets worn by Fernandez. A search of Fernandez’s social media turned up pictures of him with those bracelets, investigators said.
The FBI searched his home and seized phones and other electronics, documents read.
He has been charged with sexual exploitation of children.
Investigators did not say if any of the other people seen in the videos have been identified or arrested.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Videos surface of large group sexually assaulting toddlers in Texas mall, FBI says."