A Camp Pendleton Marine was arrested last week by authorities after he allegedly contacted minors for sex and had child sexual abuse material while working as a recruiter in California, according to local law enforcement.
Staff Sgt. Philip Rodriguez, 32, was booked into the Vista Detention Facility in San Diego on Thursday after an internet crimes task force received a criminal report in February that prompted authorities to investigate him for inappropriately interacting with minors.
In a press release last week, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office said Rodriguez sent "inappropriate digital images to a potential female recruit" and that the subsequent investigation found that he had done the same thing with two other underage girls.
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The press release said law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Rodriguez, and that he faces felony charges of contacting minors for the purpose of sex, possessing child abuse material and sending harmful matter to minors. He was released from detention after posting bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 25.
"Detectives learned Rodriguez had been assigned to work in Fresno as a recruiter for the Marine Corps. Part of his duties included interacting with minors who were interested in joining the U.S. military," the release said. "Rodriguez took the opportunity to send inappropriate digital images to a potential female recruit. As the investigation progressed, detectives discovered Rodriguez conducted the same type of illegal behavior with two other female minors."
Rodriguez enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2015 and held the military occupational specialty of motor transportation operations chief, according to records provided by the service. He is currently assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Support Battalion and remains on active duty. He was previously assigned to Recruiting Station Sacramento, the service said.
"I Marine Expeditionary Force fully cooperated with the investigation into Staff Sgt. Rodriguez's alleged misconduct," 1st Lt. Troy Garza, a spokesperson for the unit, told Military.com in a statement. "We expect our Marines to always uphold the highest standards and take any allegation of misconduct seriously."
Fresno law enforcement said that they had worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC, Task Force to investigate and arrest Rodriguez.
"NCIS takes allegations of child exploitation very seriously and is working closely with the Fresno Police Department in support of the investigation," Darwin Lam, a spokesperson for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, told Military.com in an emailed statement on Monday.
"We respectfully defer to [the] Fresno Police Department regarding state charges and the Marine Corps regarding any potential UCMJ charges," Lam continued. "Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing."
Pentagon policy strictly prohibits recruiters from engaging in inappropriate activity with potential recruits, given the inherent power dynamic between a uniformed service member and the young Americans they are charged with bringing into the military.
It was not clear if Rodriguez had an attorney.
Rodriguez's arrest comes weeks after California authorities detained another Marine recruiter for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at a recruiting center, Military.com previously reported.
Sgt. Jorge Larapedroza was arrested on Oct. 29 after he allegedly committed the assault. He was booked for "oral copulation, penetration with a foreign object, and arranging to meet with a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct," according to a news release from Sunnyvale, California's public safety department.
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