Fort Worth man fired by Children’s Medical Center Dallas faces child porn charge
A Fort Worth man who is a former employee of Children’s Medical Center Dallas is accused of receiving child pornography, according to federal court documents.
Federal authorities in San Francisco reported to a Dallas Homeland Security field agent that they had recovered images of sexually explicit behavior involving a young girl that were sent to a cell phone in the possession of James Owen Wood, according to a criminal complaint.
Wood, 48, was arrested on Jan. 31. The same day, he was fired from his job as a respiratory therapist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, where he was often assigned to the overnight shift, according to a Children’s Health official. Hospital officials say they are cooperating with the federal investigation and know of no reports of misconduct involving patients or patients’ families.
“We are appalled by the alleged actions of this individual and he was terminated immediately,” an official with Children’s Health said in a statement. “We have fully cooperated with law enforcement, and will continue do so, throughout this investigation.”
After agents in San Francisco accessed an application on another suspect’s cell phone called Whisper, those agents were able to communicate the information retrieved to the Homeland Security Dallas office, the complaint said. Whisper is a free mobile app that allows users to share and receive anonymous posts, according to the complaint. Users can exchange messages, photos and videos.
On Jan. 30, Homeland Security officials executed a search warrant at a residence on Shields Street in Fort Worth, where Wood admitted that he owned one of the Whisper accounts under investigation, according to the complaint.
Wood said the account had been deactivated but later admitted to previously receiving child pornography using Whisper and also using the account to engage in sexually explicit conversations regarding children, the complaint says.
Homeland Security officials also discovered the Whisper app stored on Wood’s cell phone during a preliminary investigation at the residence.
Federal agents were also able to retrieve several messages between Wood, who is identified by the username Tiger, and another person referred to as Suspect #1, that were of a sexually explicit nature and are included in the complaint.
Federal officials are asking that anyone who has any information about this individual or this case that might be helpful in the investigation, to call Department of Homeland Security’s toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
