Normal 0 A Miami-Dade firefighter faces 17 counts of electronic transmission harmful to minors for allegedly sending a string of sexually explicit text messages to a teen between May and June, authorities said.
The firefighter, who worked for the Miami-Dade Fire Department since 2005 has been relieved of duty, according to Griselle Marino, public relations manager of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.
Ulises Rodriguez, 35, was arrested on July 14, authorities said. An investigation revealed that Rodriguez sent several sexually explicit photos to the teen’s cell phone, some of which included his face, the report said.
The 17-year-old boy who was the recipient of the text messages was pronounced dead on June 24, the arrest report said.
Miami-Dade police said they're investigating the death, including whether it was somehow related to the alleged sexual relationship with Rodriguez.
"Whenever we investigate a death of any individual, adult or child or young man or young woman, everything is open, everyone is expected to be interviewed," said Javier Baez, with Miami-Dade Police. "And at that time depending on the outcome is where we determine where we're going to focus our investigation."
The text messages weren’t only pictures, but others included sexual invitations and questions asking the teen if he could pick him up at his home, the arrest report said.
Local
A text message sent to the teen on May 1 read: "I wanna (expletive) a young guy, like 15 or 16," according to the arrest report.
Another text message sent from the firefighter's phone on June 2 read: "When we having a threesome or have someone watch us (expletive)?" the report said.
Rodriguez was arrested and released on July 16. His next hearing is set for August 12.
