NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A lieutenant with the New Braunfels Police Department who was charged with possession of child pornography resigned, according to a spokesperson with NBPD.
Lt. Jacob Pullen has been on administrative leave with the department since Nov. 14, when NBPD officials were notified by the Texas Rangers about their investigation, a city spokesperson said.
Once Pullen was indicted on the charges in February, the city began termination proceedings. Pullen offered his resignation in lieu of termination, the spokesperson confirmed Monday.
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According to the search warrant affidavits, Pullen is accused of purchasing a membership to a child pornography site on the dark web using bitcoins in July.
Pullen’s bond was set at $100,000, according to jail records.
On Tuesday, NBPD issued the following statement on its Facebook page:
The New Braunfels Police Department was shocked and, quite frankly, embarrassed to learn that the Texas Rangers were investigating Lt. Pullen over allegations of possession of child pornography.
To be clear, the investigation, which is still ongoing, is not an NBPD investigation. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for NBPD to comment on another agency’s ongoing investigation.
Additionally, this is also now an ongoing personnel matter, and NBPD does not post or comment publicly about those types of issues.
However, NBPD has not only been fully cooperative with the ongoing investigation, but the department has also been fully forthcoming with members of the media about this situation, including comments to media outlets directly from the Chief of Police.
The New Braunfels Police Department would like to reassure the community that we remain committed to providing a safe place to live, work, and play. NBPD officers are expected to maintain the highest of ethical and moral standards, and as difficult as this situation is, it should be clear to the community that the New Braunfels Police Department does not shy away from holding accountable those that fall short of those standards.