Medina County Man accused of sexually
assaulting 5 foster children took in 180+ girls

Medina County, TX  –  A Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five former foster children, including several in Bexar County, took in more than 180 young girls over a five year period, officials said.

That leads investigators to believe there could be numerous other victims who have yet to come forward.

“It’s not a question about whether there are more,” said Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown.  “It’s just about how many.”

One additional victim has already come forward since news broke Wednesday of 58-year-old Miguel Briseno’s arrest, Brown said, bringing the unofficial total to six victims.  A charge has not been filed in the sixth alleged case.

Briseno, who is currently being held in the Medina County Jail on a $500,000 bond, was a licensed foster parent from 2005 through 2010, Brown said.  During that time he lived in both Bexar and Medina counties.

Over the course of the five years, more than 180 girls passed through his care, Brown said.  At various times, Briseno was reportedly taking care of up to 12 girls at once.

Brown said Child Protective Services contracted with a third-party company, who has not yet been publicly identified, to place the girls in Briseno’s home.

“Those girls were taken from some environment and then you have some jackass like him abusing these girls that already have troubles,” Brown said.  “I’m aggravated at the whole system.  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.”

Representatives of Child Protective Services could not immediately comment on the relationship with the company.

Two of the charges against Briseno are out of Medina County, and the remaining three originated in Bexar County.  Brown said Briseno first became a foster parent while living in Von Ormy, where the alleged assaults occurred, and later moved to Devine, Texas, in Medina County.

Wednesday’s arrest was not the first time Briseno was arrested on child sex abuse charges.  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, Brown said.

It is not clear why Briseno did not have a license after 2010 and how Briseno still had foster children in his care two years later, though investigators discovered Briseno had attempted to move his foster parent license into his wife’s name, Brown said.

“It’s not a loophole, it’s just downright wrong,” Brown said.

Briseno pleaded guilty in September 2015 to a reduced charge of attempted assault, a Class B misdemeanor.  Brown said investigators and prosecutors had difficulty securing testimony against Briseno.

He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, though county officials couldn’t confirm how much time he was actually incarcerated.

Brown said his office, as well as other investigating agencies like the Texas Rangers, plan to look into the unnamed third-party company responsible for placing the children in Briseno’s care.  They’re also working to determine whether his wife could be held criminally responsible.

All of Briseno’s reported victims were teenagers at the time of the alleged abuse.  They’re now in their 20s.  For investigators, the next step is to identify the dozens of remaining girls who were ever in Briseno’s care.

“We don’t know where they’re at,” Brown said.

“If you’ve stayed at that house, if you were a foster child [in Briseno’s care], please contact us,” he said.  “Whether you feel something inappropriate happened or not, we’d still like to talk to you.”

Victims are asked to call 210-335-8477 if they have any information on Briseno’s alleged abuse.