A San Bernardino woman faces several felony charges for sexual abuse. These charges include making children in her care perform sexual acts against each other for her own perverse pleasure.
According to official reports, Brandi Alma Valadez, 40, allegedly forced a 9-year-old boy in her care to engage in sexual activity with a young girl, 7, also in her care before sexually assaulting the girl herself. These reports state that Valadez used threats of physical violence to ensure both children complied with her demands.
During Valadez’s court appearance on Monday, city prosecutor Whitney Bokosky detailed the alleged abuse. She states it began during the summer of 2014 and took place in motels in Anaheim, Orange, and Costa Mesa.
“John Doe 2 [felt] threatened,” Bokosky said omitting the boy’s name in line with victim protections. “He does describe that Ms. Valadez threatened to put him into a bathtub that had hot water [if he refused to abuse Jane Doe].”
Another boy, 12, also allegedly raped and sexually assaulted the 7-year-old girl. This abuse began in August 2015 and continued to just before the arrest. Bokosky states that the boy would frequently force himself onto Jane Doe both when she was and was not under Valadez’s supervision. Prosecutors state in no uncertain terms that the Orange County woman knew that boy was sexually assaulting the girl and did not act to stop it.
After two years of dealing with the brutal abuse by a caregiver, both the 9-year-old and 7-year-old turned to family members. They recounted the threats and forced sexual interactions with Valadez. It was those relatives who contacted the local law enforcement. Following an investigation, police arrested Valadez at her San Bernardino home Wednesday, October 5. The exact relation Valadez has with Jane and Joe Doe 2 is being withheld, except to say that they were in her care during the time of the alleged abuses.
During Valadez’s court appearance on Monday, she was officially charged with a total of six felonies related to these events. These charges include two counts of child abuse, two counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14, and two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under the age of 14, with a special sentencing enhancement for multiple victims. Valadez has not yet entered a plea, but if convicted on the aforementioned charges she could face between 60 years to life in prison.
The court is holding Valadez on a $1 million bail until her next court appearance on November 4.