Orange County man arrested for third time on child abuse charges

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County man, who was arrested twice in two months for child abuse, was arrested again.
 
Charges against Todd Brisebois were dropped after he was accused of abusing his stepdaughter.
 
The state decided to refile charges Thursday because evidence from his second arrest may have given prosecutors a stronger case.
 
The Florida Department of Children and Families said he was arrested a second time in January for the alleged beating of his three biological sons. Those children told investigators they witnessed Brisebois beat his stepdaughter, too.
 
The 5-year-old girl's biological father and stepmother have kept paperwork showing repeated requests for injunctions.
 
Despite claims Brisebois woke the girl in the middle of night and demanded she do push-ups and hit her with a rubber hose, it took the statement of his sons to give prosecutors enough evidence to file charges on behalf of the children.
 
"The second case had an older victim that was able to tell us a lot more information than the first victim who was a lot younger," Angela Starke, a State Attorney's Office spokesperson, said.
 
An injunction filing accused Brisebois of hitting his three sons with his hands, a hose, a vacuum and a water bottle.
 
"It's a rare instance when the state drops charges and then refiles the case. Usually doesn't get better with time but it certainly did in this case," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
 
DCF said Brisebois no longer had access to the four children, but he does have a baby a judge refused to remove from his home.

Cox Media Group