Houston firefighter charged with possession of child pornography
HOUSTON - A Houston firefighter has been charged with possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, Kenneth Zink, 47, was allegedly caught using his cell phone to create videos of a 14-year-old girl in the shower.
"So she saw a phone under the door recording her while she was in the shower. She immediately ran out to see who was there and saw the defendant standing there with his phone," said Alex Napuri, the Assistant District Attorney for the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Division.
Kenneth Zink
Multiple videos of the 14-year-old girl, as well as other child pornography images and videos, were then allegedly discovered on his phone, court documents state. One of the videos allegedly involved a young girl, believed to be about 7-years-old.
"We attribute trust to our family members. We attribute trust to HFD, and that’s not what he did in this case. He did not protect his family member. He did not protect the children in these videos," said Napuri.
The Houston Fire Department confirms that Zink has been employed with the department for 21 years and is being placed on administrative status.
In a statement, HFD said, "The person has been employed by the department for 21 years. He will be removed from his assignment and placed on administrative status. We’ve begun the administrative investigation process. The employee’s actions, if true, do not reflect the values of the Houston Fire Department, nor do they speak for the thousands of hardworking firefighters who do great things every day."