[UPDATED with Wife's Arrest:] Felipe Hernandez, Foster Dad Who Allegedly Raped Then Adopted Girls, Tied to 3rd Victim

See the update at the end of this post about the arrest of Felipe Hernandez's wife in the case.


ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 8, 9:18 A.M.: Felipe Hernandez, the Santa Ana foster dad accused last month of raping and sodomizing two
girls brought under his and his wife's care who they later adopted, is now alleged to have preyed on a third girl.

That's revealed in an Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) statement on an arraignment hearing today with a laundry list of charges that could send the 66-year-old to state prison for 65 years to life.
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The Weekly reported on the monstrous allegations regarding two of the girls last month. Santa Ana police said at the time there was photos and video evidence of the abuse, which began
when one girl, now 15, was 9. A videotape was also said to show Hernandez engaged in sex acts with the second girl,
who is now 17.

Felipe Hernandez Accused of Being Foster Children Rapist Who Later Adopted His Victims

Those cases are rolled into the new OCDA release that discloses a third girl was 11 when Hernandez allegedly raped her first, abuse that would continue on several occasions between Dec. 4, 2006, and Aug. 21, 2012, according to prosecutors.

The girl who was abused beginning when she was 15 also suffered multiple lewd acts, inappropriate touching and oral copulation between Jan. 1, 2009, and Aug. 21, 2012, according to the OCDA, which adds the then-9-year-old was molested and raped by force one time between Feb. 1 and March 31, 2006. Those girls were later adopted by Hernandez and his wife; the OCDA statement does not indicate if the third female was also adopted.

Santa Ana police previously disclosed that all children had been removed from the Hernandez home. Orange County Social Services had also said its welfare checks on foster children ends once they are adopted. The agency could not comment because of disclosure laws on its previous contact with the Hernandez foster children.

When it came to the abuse of the then-15-year-old, Hernandez is accused of threatening to deny her money or take away her cell phone and laptop if she did not comply with his sexual demands. Santa Ana police had said she told her school counselor about the abuse, which led to the arrest of Hernandez. But the OCDA statement claims the police investigation began in the summer of 2012 after a family member found a
memory card with video of Hernandez touching the teen on
her buttocks and anus, and then called the cop.

However this disgusting case unraveled, it has resulted in Hernandez being charged with one felony count of aggravated sexual
assault, one felony count of forcible lewd act on a child under 14 years
old, three felony counts of lewd act upon a child under 14 years old,
two felony counts of lewd act upon a child, one felony count of unlawful
sexual intercourse, one felony count of oral copulation of a minor, one
felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object of minor, one
felony count of possession and control of child pornography, and one
misdemeanor count of sexual battery with sentencing enhancement
allegations for multiple victims and substantial sexual conduct with a
child.

More counts could conceivably be added because the investigation of Hernandez, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, continues. Anyone with additional information or who
believes they have been a victim should contact Supervising
District Attorney Investigator Anthony Sosnowski at 714.347.8794 or
Santa Ana Police Detective Ed Zaragoza at 714.245.8386.


UPDATE, MARCH 13, 12:05 P.M.: Santa Ana police have arrested the 59-year-old wife of Felipe Hernandez for being an alleged accessory to a child rape pinned to him.

Maria Esther Hernandez, who was held on $20,000 bail pending arraignment Thursday, is accused of cutting the girl's hair and threatening her if she did not lie to authorities, according to police.

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