Former Texas Foster Dad Who Took in More Than 180 Girls Is Accused of Child Sex Abuse
A 58-year-old man who was once a licensed foster parent is behind bars this week in Texas, where he stands accused of sexually assaulting five children who lived with him between 2005 and 2010, PEOPLE confirms.
Miguel Briseno took in more than 180 young girls as a foster parent before the state revoked his license seven years ago, according to a spokesman with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The spokesman tells PEOPLE that authorities in two Texas counties firmly believe there are more victims out there.
A joint investigation between investigators in Bexar and Medina counties led to Briseno’s recent arrest. He faces five charges of sexual assault of a child and is being held on $500,000 bond.
It was unclear Friday if Briseno has hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf. He has yet to enter pleas to the counts against him.
Authorities claim one additional victim has already come forward since news of Briseno’s arrest broke on Wednesday, but a charge has not yet been filed in that case.
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Authorities confirm an unidentified third-party company was hired by Child Protective Services to place the foster girls in Briseno’s home. Representatives for CPS could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE.
Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News this week, Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said he was dismayed at the series of decisions that led to the alleged abuse.
“Those girls were taken from some environment, and then you have some jackass like him [Briseno] abusing these girls that already have troubles,” Brown told the paper.
“I’m aggravated at the whole system,” he said. “I’m aggravated at the company that placed these girls. It was a money-making deal, the way they were running those girls through there like livestock. It wasn’t about making a better world for them. They were making a profit off them.”
Detectives began investigating Briseno several weeks ago, after some of his accusers came forward.
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This is not the first time Briseno has been accused of abusing a foster child: Two years after he lost his license as a foster parent, he was arrested on child sex abuse charges, according to court records.
In April 2013, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on a charge of solicitation to commit sexual assault of a child. The arrest came after one of Briseno’s foster children said he had sexually assaulted her in August 2012 — when he no longer had a foster license.
He pleaded guilty in September 2015 to a reduced charge of attempted assault, records show.
Briseno’s accusers, now in their 20s, were all teenagers at the time of the alleged abuse.
Foster children continued to be placed with Briseno after his license was taken away, though authorities say they are not sure how.
Investigators are asking that anyone who may have stayed at Briseno’s home call 210-335-8477 — even if they do not believe they were assaulted while under his care.
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