Detroit Fire official charged with federal child pornography counts
(FOX 2) - A Detroit fire official is on leave after he was named in a federal complaint involving multiple counts of seeking or possessing child pornography.
Derek Marshall McMenemy was charged with two counts out of the U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan following a multi-year investigation into sexually explicit chats that took place over a messaging application.
He is currently on leave without pay, according to the Detroit Fire Department.
What we know:
FBI agents executed a search warrant in April 2024 at a home in South Carolina in connection with a child pornography investigation.
During the raid, police seized electronic devices that contained explicit chat conversations with a resident of the home over Kik. One of the conversations involved the username jimmalow1.
The FBI identified McMenemy as the owner of the account.
A search of the username in a federal database later revealed a tip concerning McMenemy for suspected distribution of child pornography.
Further investigation found another conversation over three days, beginning on April 30, 2025.
The federal complaint said McMenemy shared clothed images of a minor whose identity was known to the suspect. The account was traced to McMenemy's home in Riverview.
Dig deeper:
Federal agents executed a search warrant of McMenemy's home on May 13 and he later turned over his phone that same day.
Investigators searching through his phone found evidence of child pornography.
The complaint includes instances of individuals using A.I. to manipulate images of minors into sexually explicit poses.
What they're saying:
The Detroit Fire Department released a statement following the announcement of charges:
"The Detroit Fire Department is aware of the criminal complaint filed against one of our members and takes the accusations very seriously. Immediately upon learning of the case on July 16th, and in accordance with department policy, the member was placed on leave without pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. Due to this being an active federal criminal investigation, we are unable to provide any further comments on the matter."
The Source: A federal complaint and statement from the Detroit Fire Department was cited for this story.