CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 28 a judge denied Melendez's request to loosen his bail restrictions to be able to drop off and pick up his son from school.
Below is the original story before updates.
A former police officer is facing first- and second-degree felony charges of sex crimes against children.
Joseph Rafael Melendez was working for Kingsville Police Department and the Portland Police Department when the crimes were reportedly committed.
He is scheduled to be in Judge David Klein's 148th District Court on Aug. 28 for a pre-trial hearing after being indicted in July for instances of indecency with a child with sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault of a child and continuous sex abuse of a child.
The 38-year-old was in court Tuesday requesting his bond conditions be modified, a request that was granted.
He is accused of five counts of indecency with a child with sexual contact from 2023 and two more from 2019; two instances of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one for three counts and the other for two counts, in 2019; and one count of continuous sex abuse of a child under 14 years old.
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records show that Melendez worked for the Kingsville Police Department from February 2016-May 11, 2019, and for Portland Police Department from May 15, 2019-June 2024.
Portland PD chief Mark Cory said Melendez was terminated "a while back."
He is subject to standard bond conditions, and in addition, he is not allowed to be within 1,000 ft. of a place where children gather; possess material describing or depicting sexually explicit acts or work at a sexually-oriented establishment; he must submit to computer and GPS monitoring; and the only child he is allowed to have contact with is his son.
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