Following the release of tapes purportedly depicting him and six other men sexually abusing two children in a public lavatory, federal police in Houston have detained a man on child sex charges.
Following the discovery of films of the event that had been posted to a secret, invitation-only forum on the dark web, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) led to the arrest of 29-year-old Arthur Hector Fernandez III in Kingwood on December 18 by the FBI. For example, the Houston Chronicle reports that Fernandez is facing charges of child sexual exploitation.
In addition to Fernandez, the seven-page FBI complaint claims that four films showed six other individuals sexually abusing a youngster.
A public toilet at the Houston Galleria reportedly included one of the four recordings, with one of the children shown laying on a change table, according to the lawsuit. It says that the Galleria has private cubicles, public restrooms, and changing tables. The Galleria was Fernandez's previous employer.
So yet, the other males implicated in the sex offenses have remained anonymous, according to authorities.
The two victims, a girl of two or three years old, shown in the footage belonged to a family that also worked at the mall. The lawsuit states that Fernandez's old employer had already closed its doors.
The ladies would sometimes bring their children to work with them, according to the lawsuit, when they couldn't afford child care or get a babysitter. The mothers had previously allowed Fernandez to watch their children while they were in the mall because they thought of him as a friend.
Until his trial, Fernandez will remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center Houston.
“I cannot allow (the) defendant to abuse any other minors, and there are no conditions or combination of conditions (of release) that can alleviate a danger to the community,” stated Andrew Edison, a magistrate judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, who refused bail to Fernandez. We were not even close.
The federal agency was able to positively identify Fernandez, according to the lawsuit, since a guy in three of the recordings wore two unique silver wristbands. The lawsuit states that Fernandez's two girlfriends verified ownership of the wristbands, and that investigators found photos of Fernandez wearing them on his social media accounts.
The exact time of recording is a mystery to the authorities. The woman who testified against Fernandez said that in October 2022 he went trick-or-treating with the kid without her and that in December 2022 he went shopping with a relative of hers. According to the second lady, Fernandez went on a shopping tour with her cousin earlier this summer.
The FBI reportedly searched Fernandez's home in early December and confiscated electronic devices and objects that connected him to the recordings and documents related to child sexual assault, as stated in the complaint. According to the paper, he was not there when the FBI conducted their check.
Following the discovery of films of the event that had been posted to a secret, invitation-only forum on the dark web, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) led to the arrest of 29-year-old Arthur Hector Fernandez III in Kingwood on December 18 by the FBI. For example, the Houston Chronicle reports that Fernandez is facing charges of child sexual exploitation.
In addition to Fernandez, the seven-page FBI complaint claims that four films showed six other individuals sexually abusing a youngster.
A public toilet at the Houston Galleria reportedly included one of the four recordings, with one of the children shown laying on a change table, according to the lawsuit. It says that the Galleria has private cubicles, public restrooms, and changing tables. The Galleria was Fernandez's previous employer.
So yet, the other males implicated in the sex offenses have remained anonymous, according to authorities.
The two victims, a girl of two or three years old, shown in the footage belonged to a family that also worked at the mall. The lawsuit states that Fernandez's old employer had already closed its doors.
The ladies would sometimes bring their children to work with them, according to the lawsuit, when they couldn't afford child care or get a babysitter. The mothers had previously allowed Fernandez to watch their children while they were in the mall because they thought of him as a friend.
Until his trial, Fernandez will remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center Houston.
“I cannot allow (the) defendant to abuse any other minors, and there are no conditions or combination of conditions (of release) that can alleviate a danger to the community,” stated Andrew Edison, a magistrate judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, who refused bail to Fernandez. We were not even close.
The federal agency was able to positively identify Fernandez, according to the lawsuit, since a guy in three of the recordings wore two unique silver wristbands. The lawsuit states that Fernandez's two girlfriends verified ownership of the wristbands, and that investigators found photos of Fernandez wearing them on his social media accounts.
The exact time of recording is a mystery to the authorities. The woman who testified against Fernandez said that in October 2022 he went trick-or-treating with the kid without her and that in December 2022 he went shopping with a relative of hers. According to the second lady, Fernandez went on a shopping tour with her cousin earlier this summer.
The FBI reportedly searched Fernandez's home in early December and confiscated electronic devices and objects that connected him to the recordings and documents related to child sexual assault, as stated in the complaint. According to the paper, he was not there when the FBI conducted their check.
