DPD officer charged with child porn alleged to have violent past

Perhaps he was better known by his apparent username -- "miggy34." Suspended Detroit Police Officer - 53-year-old Miguel Martinez -- heard the evidence against him inside federal court during his detention hearing Friday, as a judge denied him bond.

Martinez is charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. We’re told he has admitted to using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download music and software, but prosecutors accuse Martinez of downloading at least 100 files showing real minor children engaged in sex acts. Prosecutors say an undercover officer in Nevada discovered the files and traced them back to Martinez's computer.

Prosecutors allege that the files found were repeatedly available from Martinez's IP address. They say he specifically searched for children around 10 and 11 years old. The search words/acronyms he used are common for those using and getting child porn. By the end of January, police found a pattern of activity. They said that when the files were downloaded, it was never a time while Martinez was at work.

Martinez still denies downloading anything inappropriate, and says if he did, he would've deleted it. The laptop is still in the process of being "carved out," because prosecutors say there's so much material in deleted space. No music was found.

Prosecutors say two minor children have stayed with Martinez before, and when his home was searched, he had toys all over his home and in the bathroom. They say his laptop - which was password protected - was found inside his locked bedroom. Next to it was a child's pillow from a little girl's room. The mother of that child - now roughly 9 or 10-years-old - has now contacted the FBI to have her child interviewed. Prosecutors say Martinez told the FBI he lived alone and didn't own any guns other than his DPD-issued firearm, but police found a long gun in his bedroom, and now Martinez says he hasn't always lived alone.
Prosecutors argue that Martinez is a danger to the community and a flight risk. They added that Martinez has consistently lied to FBI agents and visited Mexico just six months ago.

Martinez was seen shaking his head and rolling his eyes as prosecutors bring up a violent past. There are six different accusations and arrests including assault, domestic violence, drunk driving, and apparently disrespecting other officers. They brought up an incident in 2012 where Martinez was allegedly caught assaulting his girlfriend. He allegedly told Garden City officers, "These guys aren't even real cops. I'm a real man."

Prosecutors brought up several assaults from 1990 and 1992, including an incident when he was laid off and pointed a gun at a civilian. In 1995 -- another domestic violence arrest. In 2016: an OUIL. Martinez says he'd only drink one beer per week.

Martinez's defense attorney says those domestic violence incidents were 25 years ago, that his brother lived with him at one point, and his daughter and her husband. Randall Upshaw says Martinez was born and raised in the U.S. and only visited Mexico because he had to pick up his son who became ill on vacation. Upshaw adds that Martinez's arrest was unexpected, and he had no time to delete files.

Martinez's defense attorney Randall Upshaw argued Friday that Martinez has never been convicted of anything and there's no proof that other people hadn't used Martinez's computer. He added that Martinez is an Army veteran and had been an officer for 29 years. Upshaw filed an emergency appeal. That hearing is scheduled for Monday.