A 29-year-old man is in federal custody after horrific videos showing at least seven men sexually abusing toddlers inside of a restroom of a Houston mall surfaced and were investigated by the FBI, according to multiple reports.
The sexual abuse videos were reportedly filmed inside of a restroom at the Galleria Mall in Houston, Texas. In a seven-page complaint, a special agent with the FBI in Houston detailed that the suspect, Arthur Hector Fernandez III, 29, who worked at the mall, was charged with sexual exploitation of children, according to Fox 26 Houston. Reportedly, the videos were discovered on a forum on the dark web by the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and were provided to the FBI (via Fox 26):
In disturbing and graphic court documents, four videos were described in which two toddler males were seen being sexually assaulted by multiple men in different settings.
In one specific video, FBI documents say one of the toddler males was seen in what appeared to be a public restroom lying on a changing table being assaulted by one man while Fernandez is allegedly the person recording.
The assault of the second toddler in the other three videos provided by ACCCE was described in court documents and seemed to be during different instances, one of which the child was seen on what appeared to be a changing table. There are different men seen in each of the three videos, with Fernandez being in at least two of them.
The toddlers were later discovered to be between the ages of two and three years old.
According to USA Today, Fernandez was arrested in Kingwood, Texas on Dec. 18, 2023 as a result of the complaint filed Dec. 14. The ACCCE shared the videos with the FBI in early December, which were posted on an invitation-only forum on the dark web.
The outlet noted that the FBI was able to identify one of the children, under age 3, through social media. In addition, multiple outlets reported that the relatives of both toddlers recognized Fernandez’s bracelets in the videos and that the situations that resulted in Fernandez being alone with the children were similar (via Fox 26):
Court documents say the relative of the first toddler had been called into work at the Galleria on her day off but did not have time to find care for the young boy, so she brought him with her to the mall. Fernandez, who also worked at the Galleria Mall at the time, offered to watch the toddler while she worked. This is the only time Fernandez has been alone with the child.
This incident appears to have happened on May 6, 2023, officials say. It is also assumed to have occurred in a bathroom at the Galleria Mall, as court documents state, "The Galleria Mall has public restrooms, private stalls, and changing tables."
The relative of the second toddler described a similar situation where she brought the young boy to work when she couldn't find a babysitter and Fernandez would offer to watch the toddler and walk around the mall with him.
According to the relative, Fernandez also watched the toddler two other times without her present, once in December 2022 and again on Oct. 31, 2023, to go trick-or-treating.
"The evidence in this case is overwhelming and revolting," the judge reportedly wrote in a court order requiring Fernandez to remain detained pending trial. "I cannot allow (him) to abuse any other minors and there are no conditions or combination of conditions that can alleviate a danger to the community. This is not a close call."
FBI agent Torrence White told reporters that “perpetrators of these crimes are family members, teachers, and members of the community. Oftentimes folks are looking for the monster in the white van, but often it's the person you know.”
Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw shared the story on X, with the caption: “Death penalty now.”