Prosecutors dropped eight child porn charges against a South Miami police detective Thursday but added a couple of new charges.
Det. Joe Mendez was facing eight charges of child porn after an investigator from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested him in September. Mendez was in charge of the Police Explorer program that motivates young adults to get involved in their communities and learn about law enforcement.
But in June of 2014, an underage female cadet reported Mendez for inappropriate behavior and for giving her alcohol, authorities said. And investigators said Mendez had pictures of children performing sexual acts on his cell phone.
"No children on there in any shape or form," defense attorney Doug Hartman said Thursday.
Instead, according to Mendez' attorney, the pictures were of his girlfriend.
"The young lady who was pictured gave them a sworn statement so they have no case whatsoever," Hartman said.
But besides dropping the porn charges, prosecutors added new charges of showing obscene materials to a child and giving alcohol to minors.
Mendez will be back in court for the new felony charges and prepare for a trial, expected to begin in August.
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Courtesy of our news partners at NBCMiami.com.