HOUSTON – Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV, the Houston man who was reported as missing for eight years despite being home, is finally speaking out, saying he was “brainwashed.”
Farias was discovered around 10 p.m. on June 29 outside a Houston church. He was originally reported missing on March 6, 2015, but Houston Police Department detectives said he returned home a day later.
He recently told KTRK in an interview, which can be viewed in the media player above, that his mother, Janie Santana, brainwashed him and convinced him that he would get in trouble if he didn’t go along with what she said.
“She never, like, locked me in or handcuffed me or anything like that. I had free will to leave, but it felt like brainwashed. It just kept confusing me the way she would manipulate me and say you’re going to get arrested,” Farias told KTRK. “She locked me in there pretty much mentally.”
Farias was 17 at the time of his disappearance. HPD has repeatedly referred to him as an adult, capable of making his own decisions.
His father, who was an HPD officer, died from suicide in 2014 and his half-brother, who Farias said really held the family together, died in a motorcycle accident in 2011. Farias said the death of his brother heavily affected him and his mother and that he was never really close with his dad.
“After he passed away, I wasn’t able to, you know, love myself for anything anymore. I no longer had a father figure. He’s my brother, but I never had a dad,” Farias told KTRK.
Farias said he rarely left home during the eight years when he was reported missing, except to work with his mom.
Farias alleges that Santana told him to use fake names when speaking to others and kept him isolated from his family.
“It’s like I lived in prison. It’s like I live in a f***ing jail my whole life. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to have my own job. I just wanted to live my own life,” Farias said.
Farias also addressed the allegations that Santana was sexually abusing him — a claim his extended family members have reiterated several times in addition to Houston community activist Quanell X, who met with Farias during one of the HPD interviews.
“I used to have to sleep in her bed sometimes. I don’t remember why. Boundaries, she would push or make me uncomfortable, and I would say stop, and she was like, ‘Well, why, why, why? I didn’t do anything wrong. So, I would just be like okay, okay,” Farias said.
He admitted boundaries were crossed but denied being sexually assaulted by Santana.
HPD called Farias a “potential victim” and said they’re still investigating.
When KTRK asked Farias if he considers himself a victim he said, “Yes, heavily. I just want to live my life, you know. I just want to have a family, a job, a car, a house. I just want to live my life and be happy.”
Farias is reportedly staying with friends while the investigation continues.
Santana has not been arrested for any crimes. Additionally, the Houston District Attorney’s office is currently declining to press any charges against Santana or Farias for filing fake reports and providing fake names.
Santana, however, has been banned from using the crowdfunding website GoFundMe after investigators determined she was trying to raise money to find her son even though he was at home.