The fallout continues from the heinous sexual assault of two toddlers by a group of men in the restroom facilities of Houston Galleria mall.
The FBI has arrested one man, the alleged ringleader of the gang rape, on child exploitation charges after the victims’ relatives identified him from the videos recorded during what appear to have been multiple sexual assaults.
However, the voices and images of around six other individuals were captured in the footage as the two boys, aged 2 and 3, were being abused. It is currently unknown if they have been identified or taken into custody by authorities.
Arthur Hector Fernandez, 29, was arrested in mid-December, shortly after the FBI opened an investigation into four horrifying videos that had been shared with it by the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. This governmental agency had reportedly discovered the footage on the dark web within a private online forum accessible only by invitation.
One of the toddlers’ mothers was identified thanks to an image search leading to a social media post of her child. While watching edited versions of the footage, she reportedly spotted the silver bracelets worn by Fernandez, who allegedly both filmed and took part in the sexual assaults.
As outlined in court documents, Fernandez and the two mothers worked at different stores at Galleria Houston. When both women struggled to find childcare and had to work, he offered to watch their sons. For one parent, this happened only once — on May 6, 2023. The other parent reported having Fernandez watch her child a couple of times, which included taking him trick-or-treating in 2023.
Fernandez will remain in custody until his trial, thanks to a judge’s court order.
“The evidence in this case is overwhelming and revolting,” the judge wrote, according to USA Today. “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.”
The vast majority of child sexual abuse cases involve an individual who is known to the family. Since these assaults do not always show physical traces, parents need to know what to look for, especially in the case of a victim who is not able to talk yet and does not yet have clear concepts of right and wrong behavior, as one expert suggested.
Dr. Bob Sanborn, the president and CEO of Children at Risk, urged parents to pay attention to these telltale signs.
“Kids, after they’ve been out with someone who you thought you trusted, they will sort of withdraw. They’ll be more quiet. Look for those changes in your children — bedridden, not eating. All these things are sort of signs that something’s not right with your child,” Sanborn said, according to Fox 26 Houston.
In Texas, multiple cases of child sexual assault have come to light over the past year — a disturbing number involving school educators, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
The City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard shows that 8 out of the 14 sex crimes logged this year as of January 11 involved a juvenile. The youngest two victims were 3 years old. Two others were 7.
Moreover, the median age of the victims of such offenses committed last year — totaling 741 — was 16 years old. Two 1-year-olds were logged as the youngest victims. Overall, black and Hispanic women and girls have been making up the majority of sexual assault victims in Dallas.
Although the Dallas Police Department has endeavored to fight crime, its efforts have been dampened by a longstanding officer shortage. It fields approximately 3,000 officers, yet a City report recommended closer to 4,000 to ensure public safety. Budgeting only $654 million for DPD this year, City officials will be spending much less than other high-crime jurisdictions, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Downtown Dallas has carried the consequences of this shortfall, logging considerably higher crime rates than neighboring Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is patrolled by a special police unit and private security guards.
