By Kara Berg
The Detroit News
DETROIT — A Detroit firefighter is facing federal child pornography charges after the FBI found he allegedly sent and received photos of naked children ― some of which were created by AI.
Derek McMenemy is charged with attempted receipt of child pornography and attempted possession of child pornography. The Riverview resident allegedly tried to receive and send child pornography between April 2024 and April 2026.
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McMenemy’s attorney, Terry Johnson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Detroit Fire Department spokesperson Corey McIssac said the department “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,” McIssac said in a statement. “Due to this being an active federal criminal investigation, we are unable to provide any further comments on the matter.”
How the case unfolded
The FBI conducted a raid in April 2024 in South Carolina and found multiple sexually explicit chat conversations involving the subject of the raid’s daughter. One of the conversations, which took place on the chat application Kik, was between the subject of the raid and someone later identified to be McMenemy, an FBI Special Agent wrote in an affidavit seeking criminal charges.
The South Carolina man sent McMenemy multiple photos of an 11- to 13-year-old girl in a pink dress and McMenemy allegedly responded by calling the youth sexy, asking how her panties smell and indicating he’d like to see up her skirt, the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. The man asked McMenemy if he wanted to see an AI fake of her and McMenemy said he did.
The man sent McMenemy the same image of the girl sitting in a chair, but the photo was altered to show her being completely nude, the FBI agent wrote. McMenemy allegedly said he loved the image and the girl’s “nice tight little teen body” and said he’d love to perform sexual acts on her, according to the affidavit. He said he was masturbating to the photo.
“Based on my training and experience, the above conversation demonstrates McMenemy’s sexual interest in children and his attempt to receive child pornography,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
Investigators also found another chat on Kik in April 2025, where McMenemy and another person allegedly discussed their shared sexual interest in children. McMenemy shared clothed images of a minor child with that person.
In November 2025, McMenemy allegedly sent a photo of the same child, who was approximately 9 years old, in a two-piece bathing suit and commented on her genitalia.
He also allegedly sent another photo of the same girl, when she was about 15 years old, and asked the person he was chatting with for “a couple young nudes,” Bowers wrote. The conversation also included discussions of masturbating to children and smelling children’s underwear.
In March 2026, he allegedly sent the same photo of the 15-year-old to another person, using AI to make it appear she was nude.
McMenemy was arraigned in early July and released on $10,000 unsecured bond.
He is due back in court July 28.
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