Woman accused of sexually abusing kids, forcing child to sexually abuse another

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- An Orange County woman faces charges of sexually abusing children, and prosecutors claim she also forced a child to sexually abuse another.

Brandi Valadez sat in jail Friday afternoon. She's charged with abusing two children, prosecutors claiming she forced a 9-year-old boy to perform sex acts on a 6-year-old girl. They said she threatened them physically if they did not perform the acts.

"John Doe 2 was threatened. He does describe that Ms. Valadez threatened to put him into a bathtub that had hot water," prosecutor Whitney Bokosky said.

Prosecutors also said the 40-year-old was aware that another boy, who was 12 years old at the time, was sexually assaulting the little girl, but did nothing to stop it.

"I'm going to try to get her held responsible for basically her lack of action and also the fact that she continued to allow access to Jane Doe by this other person," Bokosky said.

Valadez is also accused of molesting the 6-year-old girl. Authorities said the abuse took place in motels in Orange, Anaheim and Costa Mesa over several months during the summer of 2014.

Police arrested Valadez after an investigation that began when the girl and the 9-year-old boy told a family member. Prosecutors said Valadez was in a position of trust, but police did not reveal details of the woman's relationship to the children in order to protect their identities.

If convicted, Valadez could face up to 60 years to life in prison.

She's being held on $1 million bail and has not entered a plea. She is expected to be in court sometime in November.