LIVE OAK, Texas — Two additional suspects face charges in connection to an investigation that began with allegations of sexual abuse of a child in Live Oak, police said Thursday.
This comes after two suspects were already arrested in the case in August, bringing the total charged to four. But investigators say more arrests could be coming.
Detective Sergeant Jason Andrada is leading the investigation for Live Oak PD.
“We don't know where else this is going to take us because so far it's taken us into multiple victims, multiple suspects with potentially more victims and more suspects as we go on, so it could be bigger," Andrada said. "We're still investigating other avenues.”
Andrada confirmed 35-year-old Garrett Andrew Bailey was arrested in Oregon, where he fled after the case was developed in August. Bailey was returned to Texas and booked into the Bexar County Jail on Wednesday, where he was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child.
His bond is set at $350,000; if he were to be able to come up with the funds, he would be subject to GPS monitoring, drug testing and weekly reporting, and be prohibited from contacting the victims or possessing firearms.
The affidavit related to Bailey’s arrest contains appalling allegations and detectives said they believe he is connected to similar crimes with other victims in other jurisdictions.
Investigators detailed a call to police on August 1, asking officers to check on some children who were home alone at their apartment, and that a registered sex offender was with them.
Police report that they showed up, found 40-year-old Jarrod Kirkus with the children, and arrested him on an outstanding warrant out of Comal County, accusing him of possession of child pornography.
Detectives claim when they reached out to Comal investigators, they learned that Kirkus was already under investigation there in regard to Snapchat text messages in which he was accused of asking a woman to facilitate having sex with a young girl.
When investigators compared body worn camera video from Live Oak with notes and photos from Comal County, they realized the messages and the young girl in the apartment were the same person.
The woman who detectives accuse of setting up the encounters, Elizabeth Spaeth, was later charged as well.
Detectives said Spaeth admitted to setting up sexual encounters with the girl, Kirkus, and later another man.
She also is accused of detailing how a teenaged boy was allowed to watch the encounters on numerous occasions.
For her alleged role in the attacks, Spaeth is now in the Bexar County jail charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child and continuous trafficking of persons.
Her bonds total $500,000, but Wednesday, court records indicate she filed a motion to get her bonds reduced. A ruling is pending but a court date has not been set.
Comal County charges for Kirkus, who lists a home address in Marion, include a case from May 29 that includes a bond of $250,000 on a charge of trafficking of a child to engage in sexual conduct and a $100,000 bond for a sexual assault of a child charge.
Additional charges with an offense date of July 12 include a $200,000 bond for a charge of possession with intent to promote child pornography and an offense date of August 10 case that includes a $100,00 bond related to allegations of trafficking and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Live Oak police also identified Matthew Miller as a suspect in connection with the broader investigation, which includes several Texas counties, with the help of the Texas Rangers and other agencies.
Police say Miller has been arrested on a child pornography warrant out of Travis County, for alleged crimes discovered as they interviewed witnesses in the current investigation.
“We don't have every victim out there identified," Andrada said. "There's victims that may be afraid of coming forward with things that have happened to them. We want them to be able to come forward so that we can continue to make cases on these individuals that are involved so that we can get them justice as well.”
A release from Live Oak PD includes the following plea: "Please contact Sgt. Jason Andrada at 210-945-1734 if you have additional information concerning these suspects, additional victims or other involved parties.”
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