Gallup firefighter faces child porn possession charge

GALLUP, N.M. — A Gallup firefighter is facing charges for allegedly using fire station Wi-Fi to view and download child pornography.

31-year-old Andres Garcia is accused of having child porn videos on his phone. Investigators say he used fire station Wi-Fi to transfer one of those videos.

According to a criminal complaint, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received eight reports, between Dec. 2, 2023, and March 17, 2024, about child porn detected on a cloud system. One report allegedly showed an IP address used on the evening of March 12 to transfer a file containing child porn.

The NCMEC tipped the New Mexico Department of Justice on that report. Then, the NMDOJ learned that the IP address belonged to Gallup Fire Station 4.

Investigators confirmed with the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office that only authorized people may use that fire station’s Wi-Fi. Upon further investigation, they identified Garcia as a person of interest.

While executing the search warrant Friday, agents allegedly found child porn videos on Garcia’s phone.

Garcia reportedly told agents he viewed child porn on the Telegram app. He also said he began looking at it around a year ago and became addicted.

Garcia is now behind bars, facing a fourth-degree felony possession charge of sexual exploitation of children under age 13.

If convicted, he faces 10 years imprisonment with an additional year possible.