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SDFD Fire Engineer/Paramedic Arrested on Allegations of Sex Crime Involving a Minor

Justin Price, 35, was arrested Monday on allegations of a sex crime involving a minor

An engineer/paramedic employed with the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department was arrested Monday on allegations of a sex crime involving a minor, NBC 7 has learned. 

Justin Curtis Price, 35, was booked into San Diego County Jail just after 4 p.m. Monday on three felony charges of oral copulation with a person under 18, sex with a minor and sex with a foreign object. The final charge involves a victim who is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, according to the criminal code on the booking information.

Price has worked for SDFD for 10 years, according to City of San Diego Media Services Manager Mónica Muñoz. She added that he was most recently assigned to emergency operations. 

Price, who graduated from the academy in 2008, was hired by the department on February 21, 2009 according to records obtained by NBC 7 Investigates. 

Muñoz initially said Price was on administrative assignment with pay. Several hours later, NBC 7 learned he was on unpaid leave.

"As Fire Chief of the City of San Diego, I strongly condemn the alleged behavior and will not tolerate any actions that compromise the high standards required of all Fire Department employees," San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell said in a written statement. "These men and women will continue to uphold the paramount principles of safety and security for all San Diegans, and will do so with the integrity expected of all City of San Diego employees."

San Diego County District Attorney's Office spokesperson Barbara Medina said the case was under review. 

Price was released on $100,000 bond, Medina said, and was given a return date of May 6. 

Two sources have confirmed, the accused San Diego firefighter is the nephew of Mark Raymond Price, 56, a former Coronado firefighter sentenced to 10 years in prison last month for molesting a girl who thought of him as a grandfather.

The sentencing hearing was held in Kauai County, Hawaii. Mark Raymond Price faces similar charges in San Diego on accusations of prior assaults in 2013 and 2015 with the same victim at his home in La Mesa.

Check back with updates on this developing story. 

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