HOUSTON – A former Galleria employee is in federal custody for allegedly recording videos of himself sexually assaulting at least two toddlers.
According to a federal criminal complaint obtained by KPRC 2, 29-year-old Arthur Hector Fernandez III may have recorded one of those videos in a public bathroom at the shopping center.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Disturbing details below. Reader discretion advised.
He has been charged with sexual exploitation of children and has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial. It’s not clear when the assaults happened, but one of them is estimated to have been in May 2023.
The details in the complaint are graphic and disturbing.
Fernandez is the only subject identified and arrested at this time, but according to the complaint, up to six other people were seen participating in the sex acts or in the background of the videos.
“In the video in which (victim) is present, it appears that it was taken in a public bathroom because (victim) is seen lying on a changing table. The Galleria Mall has public restrooms, private stalls, and changing tables,” the complaint reads.
The victims were believed to be between 2 to 3 years old.
Both of the children had relatives who also worked at the Galleria, according to the complaint, and Fernandez allegedly offered to walk the kids around the mall when their relatives couldn’t find a babysitter or could not afford childcare during their work shifts.
“It’s not the white van that’s pulling up. It’s the person next door,” FBI Houston Supervisory Special Agent Torrence White told only KPRC 2 in an interview. “Oftentimes we are looking for monsters just because how heinous the crime may be, but we’re dealing with humans that are doing horrific things.”
How FBI tracked Fernandez
In early December, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation contacted the FBI after four videos got uploaded to “a private, by invitation only, forum on the dark web,” according to the complaint.
“Once they’re out there on the internet, it never goes away,” White said. “As the increasing use of the internet grows, I would say more cases will grow.”
White leads FBI Houston’s human trafficking and violent crimes against children squad, which currently has more than 100 active cases.
“Utilizing an open-source image repository, FBI HQ was able to locate a toddler that was visually similar to one of the victims depicted in one of the videos via ... Facebook and Instagram pages,” the complaint reads.
The FBI then interviewed one of the toddler’s relatives, who identified the toddler after reviewing a sanitized image from the video.
In the video, a man was wearing “two silver bracelets on his wrist, one which appeared to be chain style bracelet with a dolphin charm and the other appeared to be a solid beaded bracelet.”
During the interview with the toddler’s relative, they identified Fernandez as someone who often wore similar jewelry, according to the complaint. Investigators found Instagram photos of Fernandez wearing the same bracelets.
The relative told investigators Fernandez also often wore white low top Converse, which were visible in the background of a video, the complaint states.
When the FBI searched the address for Fernandez, they seized three pairs of white, low top Converse, phones, a tablet, and a photo storage card.
While going through his Instagram account, investigators found a link to another possible victim.
They contacted that toddler’s relative, who also identified the toddler after reviewing a sanitized image of them from the video. That relative also recognized the silver bracelets, according to the complaint.
“It’s trying to find identifiers that may help you help identify the person in the video or aspects of the video that help us put the investigation together,” White said. “Once we get it, it’s a thorough review. All hands on deck.”
Warning signs for parents
In this case, both victims were under the age of three and possibly unable to make an outcry.
“If the child is very young, it could be that they are wetting the bed. Maybe they have physical manifestations such as bruises. If they’re a little older, maybe grades are dropping,” said Katharine Chirla, prevention and trafficking supervisor at the Children’s Assessment Center. “It could be that they no longer want to go to a certain person or to a certain caregiver. They feel like they’re not safe. So there are various things to look for.”
She said most child sexual abuse cases involve someone who is loved and trusted by the victim.
“The person that the child will give the first outcry to is actually called the outcry witness. And it’s very important that person is loving and supportive and non-judgmental and that they don’t show any emotion,” Chirla said. “Say that they will find help for the child and that they are supportive along the way.”
FBI cases that need attention
When the FBI receives videos of child sexual abuse, White said the first priority is identifying the victim in order to get them the help needed.
Often times, that helps lead them to a suspect, since they usually have some connection to the victim, he said.
Sometimes, the FBI will post sanitized images from the graphic videos to this public site in hopes that someone will recognize something and report any tips.
“Oftentimes those are the ones that we’re having some trouble with sort of getting more leads on and identifying,” White said. “The biggest piece is trying to identify the victim in order to get the victim help or to identify the victim to ensure that it’s not still ongoing.”
The investigation involving Fernandez is ongoing, the FBI said, and more arrests are possible.