Ex-Austin Fireman Arrested Over Naked Child Photo

Update: Former Austin firefighter, Erik Spalteholz was arrested Monday night, according to KVUE. A video of him acknowledging purchase of a photo of a nude girl. He was booked in the Blanco County Jail on a $100,000 bond after being charged with child pornography.

AUSTIN, TX — A veteran Austin firefighter is being investigated after a video surfaced in which he claims to have paid for photos of a nude child, officials said.

According to a report in the Austin American-Statesman, the firefighter is recent retiree Erik Spalteholz, 47, as identified by an Austin Fired Department spokesperson. A woman who had been in a relationship with Spalteholz posted a video on Facebook in which the former firefighter says he wired "...probably over $700" to a woman for pictures of her unclothed daughter who he calculates is from three to five years old.

“Not, like, do anything abusive, not anything bad like that," Spalteholz says in the video, seemingly explaining his motivation in securing the photos. "Just take the pictures. Naked pictures. No sexual acts. It’s the just kind of the excitement of it actually happening, more than anything else. Yeah, that's what it was doing for me."

Until his retirement last Monday, Spalteholz is said to have worked for the local fire department 20 years.

Television news station KXAN also reported on the matter, according to the report. Spalteholz has not been charged with any crime, the media outlets noted. In the footage, the woman is heard asking him how he obtained the photos.

Sonny McAfee, the district attorney for Blanco County, confirmed Saturday to the Statesman that Austin police are investigating Spalteholz and executed a search warrant at his home in that county. A law enforcement source told the newspaper the search warrant was for Spalteholz’s computer.

Moreover, Austin Firefighters Association union President Bob Nicks told the newspaper he first became aware of the video at 5 a.m. Wednesday, adding it was shared (presumably by the woman) to several hundreds of firefighters via Facebook Messenger. “This is despicable and sickening,” Nicks told the newspaper. “We’re glad he resigned. We certainly don’t want to hide it.”

>>> Read the full story at KXAN

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