Fort Worth police sgt. fired, accused of deleting child porn on hospital patient’s laptop
A Fort Worth police sergeant who was indicted earlier this year is accused of deleting child pornography photos from a hospital patient’s computer instead of reporting the content to authorities, a redacted police report revealed.
The officer was fired Tuesday, the police department said in a news release.
Sgt. Rodsdricke Martin, 46, was the center of an administrative and criminal investigation since January. In late March the sergeant was indicted on a charge of tampering with evidence based on a report that he tried to destroy physical evidence while “working in an off-duty capacity,” the police department announced at the time.
In response to a public information request submitted by the Star-Telegram, additional information was released Tuesday.
The police report said that on Jan. 15, an elderly male patient at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest asked a patient care technician for help connecting to the hospital’s WiFi. The technician then “discovered lewd photos on the patient’s laptop and reported her discovery to a supervisor,” the report said.
The computer’s “lewd photos” included images of naked children, according to the report.
Hospital security including Martin, who is a 16-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department and was working off-duty at the hospital, investigated the incident, the report said.
“Instead of seizing the computer and alerting the Crimes Against Children Unit to further investigate, Sergeant Martin deleted the photos,” the police report said.
On March 29, the police sergeant was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Martin, prior to his arrest, was placed on restricted duty and stripped of all police powers, the police department said. As the department’s administrative investigation finalized, Martin was placed on an unpaid suspension.
Following the indictment, Martin’s attorney, Robert Huseman, of Varghese Summersett law firm, said their team was conducting an independent investigation into the allegations. “We would ask the public not to rush to judgment,” Huseman said. “Sgt. Martin has served this community for more than a decade and has devoted his life to helping others.”
Martin joined the department in July 2006, according to police records, and worked as a narcotics officer.
The hospital system said in an email in March, “We assisted FWPD in their investigation and conducted our own internal review. Sgt. Martin has not been eligible to work security shifts at any Texas Health facility during the investigation.”
According to Tarrant County jail records, Martin was released on $5,000 bond on March 30. He’s expected back in court on July 29.
