By: Maria-Paula

Brian Godfrey Martin, a Henrico County firefighter, was arrested July 15 for multiple felony charges related to child pornography. The 43 year old master firefighter is accused of possessing and distributing child sex abuse material, CSAM.

The arrest and holding at Pamunkey Regional Jail followed a year long investigation by the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office which acted after a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force regarding a Hanover resident with a possibility of possessing CSAM.

Martin appeared in front of a judge over a video call for his arraignment on child pornography charges.

Court documents indicated that an investigator acted on a tip from Snapchat in reference to child pornography uploaded to the app, hence Martins identification.
The investigator then conducted the legal process for Martin’s Snapchat account, confirming  a chat between Martin and another user, alleging that several images of CSAM were shared between the two.
Sergeant Steve Wills of Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said no matter who and how long it takes, anyone involved in this type of activity must at some point be held accountable for it.

“It’s unfortunate anytime somebody who is in public safety and a trusted member of the community ends up in a situation like this because I think it makes it that much bigger and a much larger story,” said Sgt Wills.

On investigations, Sgt Wills added that:
“It starts with an IP address. From there, a lot of search warrant writing to discover where that IP address belongs to, where it comes back from, and then we hopefully discover an owner of that internet provider.”

Martin, a resident of Mechanicsville, has been part of the Henrico Division of Fire since 2012, recently at Station 19 in Short Pump.

Following  his arrest, Henrico Fire Chief Jackson Baynard issued a statement announcing an immediate suspension of Martin without pay.

“The Henrico County Division of Fire is aware of charges filed this afternoon by the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office against Master Firefighter Brian G. Martin. Mr. Martin has been employed by Henrico since September 2012 and most recently was assigned to Short Pump Fire Station 19.

Due to the nature of the charges against him, Mr. Martin has been suspended without pay, effective immediately.

In addition, the Division of Fire’s Professional Standards unit will conduct an independent investigation into matters associated with Mr. Martin’s employment. Inquiries about the criminal investigation should be directed to the Hanover Sheriff’s Office,” read a full statement from Baynard.

The 11 charges Martin currently faces include:
• One count of  possession of child pornography
• Seven counts of possession of child pornography , second or subsequent offence
• One count of distribution of child pornography
• Two counts of distribution of child pornography, second or subsequent offence

As the presiding judge set a status hearing for Martin on July 29 and a preliminary hearing in September, Martin told the judge during the court hearing that  he plans to hire his own attorney.

Anyone with any further information on the ongoing suit is requested to call the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office at (804) 365-6140 or Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000