HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston firefighter has been relieved of duty with pay amid a criminal and internal investigation, according to Houston Fire Department Chief Thomas Muñoz.
According to court records, Ethen Garcia was charged with online solicitation of a minor and solicitation of prostitution. He is due in court on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
ABC13 is still working to get more details about the charges. Charging documents are usually available online but these are not due to the nature of the case. ABC13 has requested those documents but didn’t receive them by publication.
On Friday, Muñoz provided the following statement.
“Ethen Garcia is relieved of duty with pay, in accordance with HFD policy. The case remains an active investigation, both by our Professional Standards Office and the Houston Police Department. HFD takes these disturbing allegations very seriously, and this kind of behavior does not reflect the 4,000 men and women of this Department. If proven to be true, a person who commits these acts has no place in the Houston Fire Department.”
Garcia was assigned to emergency operations since joining the HFD in June 2021, according to fire officials.
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