MIAMI – A Miami-Dade County firefighter has been arrested on child pornography charges.
Gabriel Diaz, 38, was arrested Thursday on 16 counts of promoting sexual performance by a child.
Police said Diaz sent and shared illicit photos of children via Twitter. The account has since been deactivated.
Diaz's father and girlfriend were in court Friday as he faced a judge. His attorney argued that the girls appeared to be 18 years old, but the judge disagreed.
"Some of these children appear to be under the age of even 12 years old and there's significant detail as to what was going on in these," Judge Diana Gonzalez-Whyte said.
She set his bond at $160,000.
Diaz has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
"He's a wonderful family man," Diaz's attorney, Gus Lage, said. "He's got two children that he adores. He's served this community faithfully for over 20 years with no incidents and no problems whatsoever, and he looks forward to being vindicated in reference to this matter."
His arrest comes a week after a Miami firefighter was arrested on federal child pornography charges.
Alexander Rousseau is accused of downloading child porn while at work at Miami fire station No. 6. He was fired after a judge ordered that he remain in jail without bond.