Houston mall worker, Arthur Hector Fernandez, accused of group sex abuse of 2 toddlers in his care

A Houston mall worker allegedly partook in twisted group sexual abuse of two toddlers in his care and filmed at least some of the disturbing acts in a public bathroom, authorities said.

Arthur Hector Fernandez III, 29, was arrested and hit with federal charges after the FBI discovered several videos showing a group of men sexually abusing two two-year-olds on different occasions dating back to 2022, according to a Texas criminal complaint filed last month.

Fernandez, a former employee at the Houston Galleria, was one of at least seven individuals who allegedly appeared on camera in four disturbing videos — which were initially flagged by an Australian anti-child exploitation government agency on Dec. 6, 2023, the complaint states.

The short clips, in which Fernandez and one or two others allegedly abused the children, originally appeared on the dark web in an invitation-only forum, authorities said.

One of the small boys was abused in what appeared to be a public restroom while he was on a changing table, the FBI said. He was filmed in one of the videos, while the other boy appeared in three videos.

Fernandez is accused of being behind the camera capturing the sickening abuse in at least one of the clips, the feds said.

Federal authorities were able to identify the two tots and interviewed their relatives, who said that they each had asked Fernandez to babysit their kids while they were on the clock at a store in the Texas mall.

The mother of one victim said this past summer she was called in to work and brought her son with her. Fernandez, who worked at a kiosk in the mall, offered to push the toddler around the shopping center while she worked, the mom said.

The other victim’s relative said she used to bring her kid to the mall when she couldn’t find a babysitter, and Fernandez watched the child on a few occasions, the complaint outlines.

Fernandez was charged with sexual exploitation of children and will be detained pending trial.

“The evidence in this case is overwhelming and revolting,” the presiding judge wrote in a court order that kept him behind bars, 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.”

Investigators identified Fernandez by two silver bracelets seen on the wrist of one of the abuses in some of the videos, according to the complaint. The relatives of the victims each separately recognized the bracelets as the ones Fernandez would often wear.

Agents have since taken electronics from the alleged pervert’s home as part of their investigation.