Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Arthur Hector Fernandez, a kiosk worker at the Galleria Mall in Houston, for the alleged sexual abuse of two toddlers. Fernandez is accused of filming these heinous acts and then posting the videos online.
The harrowing discovery was made when the FBI initiated an investigation following a tip-off from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, which had come across the disturbing material on a “private, by invitation only” online forum, as reported by the Star-Telegram.
Investigators report that each of the four videos obtained during the investigation depicted separate sexual assaults on the children, taking place in various locations within the mall, including the restrooms.
The victims, a 2- and 3-year-old toddler, were allegedly left in Fernandez’s care by their parents, who were his acquaintances and fellow mall employees.
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According to court documents, Fernandez went trick-or-treating with one of the toddlers in October.
The key to cracking the case was a sophisticated search involving an open-source image repository.
Detectives managed to identify one of the victimized children by comparing the images to social media posts.
A breakthrough came when a ‘sanitized’ image from the abuse materials was shown to the child’s mother, who recognized a distinctive pair of bracelets – items that were later confirmed to belong to Fernandez from his social media profiles.
Following the discovery, the FBI conducted a search of his residence, confiscating phones and various electronic devices.
Fernandez was arrested in December and remains in federal custody. While he is currently the only individual charged, the search for other suspects appearing in the videos is ongoing.
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